BY JACOB AJOM

Nigeria coach, Stephen Keshi has said he did not have a magic wand to turn the national team around under one month, but remained hopeful that the work he and other members of the technical crew were doing would soon bear fruits.

In a chat with Sports Vanguard Wednesday, Keshi admitted that it was still too early to give a concrete assessment of the home based players who have been camping for the past one week, saying, “the boys are trying to impress. It is a gradual process and we are still working on the players.”

Eagles Coach, Keshi

Asked if the players presently in camp would form the core of his future team, Keshi was a bit surprised at the question. “How do you people pick a team in this country. We have been here for barely a week. The team will evolve gradually and I don’t have a magic wand to turn things around in two weeks. It is too early to say that. People should be patient with these boys,” he said.

He spoke on the Youth Corps player who was invited to camp after the NYSC team played against the Eagles.

“He is picking up and he has shown that he can improve with time. We are working on him.”

The coach confirmed that the Abuja camp which opened last week closes on January 16.