Former Super Eagles coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, has indicated that interim senior national team coaches will fail if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) fails to support them.
While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the coach said Salisu Yusuf, Kennedy Boboye and Imama Amapakabo, all of whom are home-based, should be given a chance.
Onigbinde said that the football echelons should not make the trio bait for hiring a foreign coach, and believe that despite just being there on interim basis, the managers deserve cooperation from the NFF.
“Whether black or white, what any coach needs is total cooperation. So it is on the part of the NFF to provide the required assistance to the coaches to succeed,” said Onigbinde.
“I have witnessed several situations where NFF will appoint Nigerian coaches on interim basis just because they have plans for a foreign coach. In that situation, nothing the coach will do will appeal to them.
“I will advise the NFF to provide all the necessary assistance to the coaches to enable them succeed. Winning the friendly matches will be good for the team ahead of the World Cup draw and only commitment and cooperation from NFF will guarantee that,” Onigbinde, a former FIFA / CAF technical committee member said.
Onigbinde further stated that the coaches were appointed on merit, and their efforts handling a club side in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is worthy of commendation.
“I believe the coaches were appointed on merit because the positions of their clubs say it all. Handling a club in Nigeria is not an easy job talk-less of being on top of the league so I wish the coaches well.”
Yusuf and his team will be in charge of Nigeria’s friendly matches against Mali and Luxembourg on May 27 and June 2 respectively.
