Head coach of the Super Eagles Stephen
Okechukwu Keshi has shrugged off the issue surrounding his contract extension
with the country’s football federation, NFF saying his “destiny” is certainly
not tied to the Super Eagles job.
The African champions face their Congolese
counterparts, the Red Devils, at the Stade Municipal in Pointe-Noire in a 2015
Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match this Saturday which Nigeria must win by
a two-goal margin to have any hopes of defending their title.
The 52-year-old coach is yet to be offered a
new contract since his first deal with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)
elapsed after the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.
But Keshi has now stated that contract talks is
not an issue at the moment. He added that his future is not dependent on the
Nigeria head coach job.
The former Mali and Togo manager believes there
is life after managing the Super Eagles should he not be handed a contract at
the end of the 2015 Afcon qualification.
“I don’t think it is proper to say my fate is
tied to this (Nigeria) job. My concern right now is the game against Congo, and
not whether I will still be in charge of this team after the match against
Congo or South Africa.
“I think you all need to stop this because my
destiny is not tied to Nigeria. I came from somewhere (to take up the Nigeria
job). It is wrong to say my destiny is tied here because this country is bigger
than any individual. If I am not the Super Eagles head coach today, my life
will still go on. Also there are other places where I can go if I stopped being
the coach of this country.
“But right now, I have a job to do and that is
to ensure that the team qualifies the country for the Nations Cup. God forbid
if we don’t qualify what will happen? It will not only affect Stephen Keshi, it
will also affect you and every other Nigerian who love this sport. So I think
this is not about Stephen Keshi but about Nigeria. All I want from my
countrymen is to pray for the team and not me because I am just one man,” Keshi
told journalists in Abuja, on Wednesday.
Keshi has been in charge of the African
champions since November 2001 and has overseen more than 50 matches as the
Nigeria head coach, including their 2013 Afcon triumph and appearance at the
2014 World Cup.
No comments:
Post a Comment