'No cause for alarm' - Interim boss Eguavoen urges Super Eagles fans not to panic pre-AFCON

Former Super Eagles captain Augustine Eguavoen was appointed as Nigeria's interim head coach following the dismissal of Gernot Rohr by the Nigeria Football Federation on Sunday evening, four weeks before the start of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Rohr, who coached Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup and led the country to a third place finish at the 2019 AFCON, was fired after poor results against lower ranked African nations, with the team losing to Central African Republic and drawing with Cape Verde in the World Cup qualifiers, and being forced to two draws by Sierra Leone in the AFCON qualifiers.

The Nigerian Federation have promoted from within, naming their Technical Director Eguavoen as interim manager.

The former ACB Lagos defender has coached the Super Eagles in the past, from 2005 to 2007 before returning for a second spell as caretaker coach in 2010.

Eguavoen will be responsible for preparing the Super Eagles for the Africa Cup of Nations with a training camp set to begin after Christmas.

Many Super Eagles fans view the temporary hiring of Eguavoen as a complete disaster considering that he has not coached the national sides for a decade, but the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner is urging the supporters not to panic.

Speaking to TVC News, Eguavoen said : "There's no cause for alarm, we shouldn't panic. Everything is under control, hopefully the issues on ground now will be solved and then we'll come out with a very good outing in Cameroon".

Igho Kingsley