Super
Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has said that he does not need all the good
players in Nigeria to build a strong team and as such does not regret
leaving out any player for the African cup.
Keshi
dropped West Bromwich striker Osaze Odemwingie and Levante top scorer
Obafemi Martins and kept faith in many players who had not appeared in
any major international tournament at the senior level – some of them
were picked from the Nigerian league.
The
coach said most Nigerians did not understand why he dropped the
players, noting that the present team has performed excellently without
the players he rejected.
He
said, “When we were in Portugal, there were lots of problems in Nigeria
because I decided to drop some of my good players. Most Nigerians did
not understand but I know why I dropped them. You don’t need all the
good players to do the job for you in a tournament; sometimes what you
need is strong mentality in the team.
“You
need team players and those who will work for the team. There are lots
of talents in this team but they need time to play together to
understand themselves.”
The
coach gave the impression that he was not under pressure when the team
was struggling to qualify from the group stage of the 2013 Nations Cup.
After the victory over Mali in the semi-final on Wednesday, Keshi said
he was aware of the difficulties ahead when the team arrived in South
Africa for the tournament.
He
said, “When we started, it was a little bit difficult. We were just
coming together for the first time. Most of the players had two or three
days to work together during the qualifying series.
“But
during the preparation for the competition, we worked hard. I knew that
the first two or three games in the tournament might be hard for us
because of fatigue and other difficult factors. In a competition like
this, you never can tell what’s going to be. But the moment we got it
right, that is it; we started winning because of the high level of
discipline and commitment in the camp.”
Keshi
said the present team were still not as good as the 1994 squad that won
the Nations Cup in Tunisia and qualified for the World Cup. Keshi was
the captain of the side but he highlighted the difference between the
two teams.
“The
1994 squad took five years to build. This team is just five week-old. I
don’t want people to get it wrong, we are just growing. Don’t think we
are there yet. We are still adding and subtracting and if I see any
player that will add quality to the team, I will bring him in,” the
coach said.
TalkOfNaija
