The Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi, in reaction to his sack on Wednesday night by the newly elected Nigeria Football Federation’s board, has said it is time for him to move on.
Keshi seemed to be in good spirits while speaking on Thursday morning, shortly after his dismissal.
“It is about time for me to move on, my dear. This is not the end of the world for me,” he said.
During Nigeria’s Wednesday encounter with Sudan in Abuja, a match which ended 3-1 in favour of the Super Eagles, Nigerian fans at the packed stadium started chanting as Keshi stepped onto the pitch: “You must go.”
The coach, who took the Super Eagles job four years ago, won the 2013 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, in South Africa and led the team to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2014 Confederations Cup, both in Brazil.
However, he has been struggling to qualify Nigeria for the 2015 AFCON, and has so far recorded a home and away defeat in Calabar and Sudan respectively.
Following the 2013 AFCON, Keshi failed to stick with the winning team of players and has been inconsistent in his choice of players for other competitions. He was criticised for the calibre of players he selected to play at the World Cup, a run that ended at the round of 16.
Meanwhile, in spite of the sack, he and his former assistants, Daniel Amokachi and Ike Shorunmu, are expected to proceed for a coaching course, fully funded by the NFF in any country of their choice. Former Eagles coach, Amodu Shuaibu takes over from Keshi pending the appointment of a foreign technical adviser for the team.
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