Abakaliki – Football stakeholders in Ebonyi have urged new Super Eagles Chief Coach Stephen Keshi to reposition the Super Eagles by changing its present structure.

Keshi, a former skipper of the team, was given a three-year contract on Wednesday by the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to tinker the team.

Keshi replaces Samson Siasia who was sacked last week after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2012 Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Godwin Eze, the proprietor of Ebonyi 2011 Federation Cup runners-up, Mgbo Ambassadors FC, urged Keshi to  overhaul the administrative and technical aspects of the team for better performance.

“Keshi is arguably the most successful Super Eagles player and captain, where he showcased his man management skills for the benefit of the team.

“He was the one who blazed the professional football trail for Nigerian footballers to thrive in Belgium and beyond in the late 1980s,” he said.

The proprietor urged  Keshi to bring his wealth of coaching experience garnered from Togo and Mali to bear on the psyche of the players in order to instil a winning mentality.

“The present Super Eagles squad consists of talented players but lack a fluent means of communication between the team and the technical crew.

“Nigerian players see Keshi as a role model, and he should take advantage of this to get the job done where Siasia had failed to excel,” he said.

Phinan Ozonweke, a former captain of Rangers International FC of Enugu, urged Keshi to invite only committed players to he national team.

“One of Siasia’s greatest undoing was the invitation of players on sentiment as some of those who prosecuted the last Nations’ Cup qualifiers were boys who played under him during his stint with the junior national teams.

“There is nothing wrong in inviting players one is used to but they must be fit and committed to the team’s cause.

“Chiendu Ogbuke had been inconsistent in his club, Ambrose Efe was still observing his honeymoon prior to the Guinean tie and Fengor Ogude, a natural midfielder was placed in a sensitive defensive position; for the crucial Guinean match,” he said.

Ebele Ughasoro, a civil servant in Abakaliki, urged Keshi, to settle any dispute that arises in house without resorting to the press at the slightest opportunity.

“Siaisa exposed every problem within the Eagles to the nation’s sporting press to the detriment of the team’s cohesion,” she said. (NAN)