Former Nigeria international, Silvanus Okpala has called on Nigerians, the football authorities and the national team players in particular to put the Nations Cup disappointment behind them and move forward.

Okpala who said he does not engage in self-pity and recrimination advised that the lessons learnt from Eagles failure should form the base for the country’s progress in future competitions. In a chat with Sports Vanguard Monday, Okpala insisted, “we have to move forward. There are still so many matches to be played. Tomorrow(today) we will be playing Ghana, should we abandon that match because we could not qualify for the Nations Cup?”

He said he would not support any “irrational” action from the football governing body because the team failed to qualify for one tournament. “It is only in Nigeria you hear people talk about disbanding a team or keeping a team together. You don’t do that. You can only make changes to a team or you maintain your players based on current form.”

Okpala called for a national team with a strong input from the local league. “That requires a lot of hardwork because you have to raise the level of our local based players to that of their Europe based counterparts. You must get the right people to train them.”

He expects to see the players approach the Ghana match with professionalism. “They are all professionals. They know that they have to win every game. As a player, it is only good to give your best in any situation. at the end even if you lose, you will go home and sleep well. It is only shameful when you failed to do your job well, that is when you will blame yourself,” Okpala said.