Afcon: Battle against Zambia titanic – Keshi

By Tony Ubani
Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi knows the task at hand today when his team battle Zambia in a must win match for the Eagles to avoid the shameful exit door in the first round of the African Nations Cup.

In a pre-match media conference at their remote hide-out at the team’s Ingwenyama Sports Resort in Nelspruit, the former skipper of the team that won the 1994 Nations Cup in Tunisia confessed that he was under severe self-imposed pressure to win.

Nigeria’s  Super Eagles in a training session in Nelspruit on January 24, 2013, on the eve of a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations goup C football match against reigning champions Zambia. AFP PHOTO

“I’m not under pressure from any quarters be it the NFF or anywhere. But I’m under immense pressure I put myself. Everybody is under pressure in his own field. You are under pressure yourself”, he said pointing at a reporter. But this pressure will ease after the match tomorrow(today)”, he said.

He was asked what it was to be coach of country where over 160 million Nigerians have passion for the round leather game and claim to be experts in it? “It is interesting. Yes, we have millions of coaches in Nigeria but they must understand that every national team that has achieved took time to build and they must give this Super Eagles side time to grow.

In my entire life, I have never seen where a house was built overnight. It takes time to get good things on ground. I plead for patience and allow this team to mature. They were impressive in the first match except when they lost focus”.

He however admitted that the battle against Zambia’s Chipolopolo would be titanic but promised to overcome them at the end.