Former Nigeria internationals Felix Owolabi and Oladimeji Lawal have described results churned out by coach Stephen Keshi with the Super Eagles as unacceptable as the team are on the verge of not qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the tournament became dimmer following their 1-0 loss to Sudan in Khartoum on Saturday. The African champions have yet to win a game after falling to Congo in Calabar and playing a goalless draw with South Africa last month.
The team must now win their remaining three matches to get off the last rung in Group A and qualify for the next round.
Owolabi told the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday that Keshi failed because he refused to include quality players in the team
“Keshi does not know how to manage success, he is stubborn and he has managed to side-line players that could have helped us,” Owolabi said.
“The result of Saturday’s match has shown that we may not qualify; it’s sad and embarrassing.
“We were bragging about how we were going to defeat Sudan but Sudan had perfected our downfall. Our defence and midfield were in shambles.’’
Keshi has yet to be given a new contract by the Nigeria Football Federation after his contract expired when Nigeria crashed out at the World Cup in Brazil. He has since been acting in interim capacity.
The last time Keshi won with the team was against Bosnia-Herzegovina at the World Cup, his only victory in Nigeria’s last 11 games.
But Lawal insisted Keshi was as good as his last match and that the NFF should decide on his future with the team as soon as possible.
“I didn’t have time to watch the match but the last thing I expected was Sudan beating Nigeria. That was an unacceptable result,” Lawal told our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday.
“But I’m not in the position to advise the NFF on Keshi’s job; the NFF knows what needs to be done to make the team better.
“It is difficult to say for sure what the outcome of the next three matches would be. It is, however, important for the NFF and the technical crew to correct the errors in the team before the return leg on Wednesday.”
The PUNCH learnt that the Eagles were not paid any bonus following the loss to Sudan on Saturday. The team Secretary had been handed $10,000 for the players on arrival in Khartoum but the money was returned to the NFF after the loss. The Eagles got their $10,000 winning bonus in Brazil before they faced France but lost the match. The cash was not refunded.
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