Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr, has reminded his players that they are not in Seychelles on vacation and must show character in Saturday’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying clash against the Pirates.
Nigeria currently occupy the third spot in Group E of the 2019 AFCON qualifiers after losing their opening game to South Africa, and the Franco-German tactician admits the position does not befit the three-time African Champions.
“Everyone realises the importance of this match. We are currently number three in our group and that position does not befit Super Eagles of Nigeria,” Rohr told thenff.com.
“It is not good for us because it is outside the qualification range.
“The players know this. They know that on Saturday they have to show character to put our campaign back on track with a good result.”
Rohr also makes it clear that his boys are not vacationers looking for relaxation.
“We are not here on vacation. We are here for serious business,” he stated.
“We have a young, ambitious team and Nigeria has a better pedigree in the game of football than Seychelles. But we must not underrate them in any way or take things for granted.
“The World Cup is behind us now, but we must allow the lessons we learnt in Russia to make us better and more efficient in our approach.
“The Cup of Nations is the focus now and we must get a good result on Saturday to get our campaign back, and then we can now look ahead with determination to win the remaining matches in our group to qualify easily for the championship.”
