Keshi’s performance unacceptable

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.