Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has declared that he won’t quit his position despite speculations that the former Nigeria was on his...
Oliseh, who spoke online with The PUNCH on Monday, denied that he had indicated to the Nigeria Football Federation his desire to move on.
“I am not quitting,” Oliseh said.
The coach and his players of the home-based Eagles have come under criticism after failing to qualify from the group stages of the 2016 African Nations Championship in Rwanda. The former Eagles captain has stoutly defended their performance in the East African country as he insists that a lot of off-field issues affected them.
Some European coaches have already been linked with the Eagles’ job, which Oliseh has yet to declare vacant. An associate of the Eagles coach, who later spoke with our correspondent on Monday said even though Oliseh would remain on his post, a lot of things have to be discussed and changed for the Eagles to make any meaningful impact in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
He said, “A lot of things have to change and these are what will be ironed out before another competition starts. The money crisis was a huge one. The players were doing well at the start but their attitude and form dipped when it became very evident that they would not get their cash until after the tournament.
“But if the NFF didn’t have the cash, they could have supported the team in many other ways. They were left alone in a very small two-star hotel in Rwanda. Most of the times the players could not eat what was served by the hotel and Oliseh had to supplement with cash to enable the players eat outside. The coach also assisted many who could not really get quality boot and this was a drain to his pocket.
“In the Abuja camp, there was little or no visit from the NFF team. When you owe players, you should stay close enough to make them believe that they will truly get their money later.”
Last week Oliseh told The PUNCH that the players based abroad were continuously calling him to be sure of the finances of the team. Our correspondent confirmed that the players have not been paid their allowances for the match they played against Swaziland in November. There’s fear that they may become reluctant to show for the March qualifier against Egypt.
...the PUNCH
