Obuh Tasks Flying Eagles Coach Aigbogun On World Cup Ticket, Super Eagles

Former Flying Eagles head coach John Obuh  has backed coach Paul Aigbogun to lead the current Nigerian U-20 national team to the semifinals of the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations which guarantees an appearance at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.

Obuh however stressed that the team must be considered as a conveyor belt for the Super Eagles.

"I really want to believe that Paul (Aigbogun) knows why he had to pick up the job of the U-20 national team because it's a job that prepares the players to graduate to the Super Eagles,  so I want him to concentrate on that," Obuh told Channels Television on Thursday night.

"Unfortunately we belong to a country where winning trophies at the age grade categories are important to Nigerians.

"But I think the most important for him to do is build a team that will produce more number of players for the Super Eagles.

"I still want to believe that the team will qualify for the World Cup if only they they remove in their thoughts this issue of host countries which don't work in international football otherwise I would have won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2009 when we lost to Switzerland.

Obuh said insists that the 'win at all costs' syndrome and huge expectations by Nigerians, and performance levels of the players should not deter the Flying Eagles who face hosts Niger at 4.30pm Nigerian time on Friday.

"What can I say: that is their first test of that level of the game of their careers unlike my U-20 team of 2011 who had their exposures from the U-17 team before graduating to the U-20 level," the onetime Enugu Rangers and Wikki Tourists coach concluded.