Amuneke, Iroha plead for Amodu, want Eagles overhauled

By Kate Obodo

Former Super Eagles players, Emmanuel Amuneke and Benedict Iroha have  urged the Nigeria Football Association,  to allow the  Super Eagles coach, Shaibu Amodu lead the team to the World Cup in South Africa.

According to them,  the team need continuity to excel, arguing that hiring a foreign coach will cause distraction in the team.
Amuneke, whose two strikes helped the Eagles beat Zambia in the final of the 1994 Nations Cup in Tunisia, pleaded that Amodu should still be given the opportunity to continue from where he stopped as it will go a long way to effect more  changes in the national team.

According to  him, “ in as much as the coach started the race, he should be given the chance to finish what he has started”, adding that  hiring a foreign or local coach would not do any good to the team. He also advocated  the need for total reshuffling of players  in the team. Asking for young and vibrant players.

“I believe Amodu should be left alone to finish what he has started. The idea of changing coaches will not help us, they should allow him to lead the Eagles to World Cup.

“What he (Amodu) needs now, is support from the football house and how to rebuild the team so as to be able to compete well  at the World Cup . This will need players who are hungry, skillful and are willing to play for their fatherland.

The team should be a combination of both local and foreign players. With this, there will be competition.  The Ghanaian team was a good example at the just concluded Nations Cup which we need to emulate.  We just need to put things in order so that Nigerians, especially soccer loving fans, would be confident in watching our football rather than focus on foreign leagues ,” the former FC Barcelona striker said
For Iroha, he thinks it is rather too late now to hire any foreign coach that will lead the team to the World Cup.

He argued that the problem of the team lies with the players as he called for the injection of younger players in the team.

Said he: “I don’t think the idea of changing our coaches is the right answer for the team now. They should not change Amodu but allow him to finish up at the World Cup. The problem of our national team is not only the coach but also the players.

Hiring a new coach now, for me, is too late. They should just allow him to take the boys to the World Cup because the time is too short . What I expect them to do now, is to think about how to build the team, go out and hunt for talented players who I know we have in abundance, both within and outside the shores of the country. Every department of the team needs to be overhauled, starting from the midfield, defense and attack,” he said.