As Nigerians await the appointment of a foreign technical adviser for the Super Eagles, former national team handler, Coach Tunde Disu has accused Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) of impatience with local coaches, insisting that if enough time is given to them, they’ve what it takes to turn around the fortune of the team. In an exclusive interview with The Catholic Herald Sports the one time chairman technical committee of the football house described as unfortunate the craze to go for a foreign coach at the slightest opportunity without considering the number of months a Nigerian gaffer has been in the saddle to create any meaningful impact on the team.
“It’s unfortunate that the NFF takes delight in sacking local coaches at the slightest opportunity even when the person has not settled down fully on the job but when it involves a foreigner, they keep him for so long unless when it becomes obvious that the person can no longer deliver.
“You’re aware that the Franco- German gaffer, Gernot Rohr, stayed more than five years even when it was obvious that he could not raise a standard team under those years but Eguavoen as a stop gap coach who did not even spend up to six months was booted out for failing to qualify for the World Cup which is an abnormally.
“When I was with Clemence Westerhof, it took him close to five years to build a well respected Super Eagles and he was always telling us that even his grandmother can coach Nigeria because of the abundant talent in the country. He insisted then that only an unserious coach can fail with Nigeria. “What this means is that once our local coaches get the same treatment like their foreign counterparts, they will perform wonders just like the late Stephen Keshi did when he won the Nations Cup in 2013 in South Africa when nobody gave him a chance,” noted the Saudi 89 Daman miracle coach.
When reminded that Eguavoen was not sacked but resigned his appointment after the dismal performance of the Super Eagles against Ghana in the World Cup playoff, the former Flying Eagles handler explained that Eguavoen was forced to resign because the football house have already made up their mind to hire a foreign technical adviser for the team coupled with the mood of the nation at that time with people believing that the coaching crew did not do enough, so under such circumstance, he had no other option than to resign because the job of a coach is all about hiring and firing.
