By Solomon Nwoke
VETERAN coach and former Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Kashimawo Laloko has described the disengagement of  the Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi as ‘very appropriate’.

The former coach of the Gambia national team blamed Keshi for his woes saying that Keshi is the architect of his own fortune adding that, “he ‘lost’ his head immediately after winning the African Nations’ Cup in South Africa 2013.

Kashimawo Laloko

“He got to the top and forgot how he got there. He had very good players that should have made the teams but he chose to shut the door at them. He had been in constant fight with some players whom he said are disrespectful and stubborn.

“All over the world, great players are known to show off , so, this is where the expertise of a good coach comes to play; to manage such traits to his advantage,”

Continuing, Coach Laloko went memory lane to remind Keshi of his days in the national team and how he was causing disaffection in the team and the subsequent sanctions he earned for himself. “But he was tolerated by his coaches.”

Coach Kashimawo who is the Director of the Pepsi Football Academy in Lagos blamed Keshi for not separating personal interest from national interest and so, shot himself in the foot

He added that Keshi’s attitude to other coaches and to the job changed after the AFCON 2013 victory. He wanted to do the job all alone and did not have regard to some senior coaches he should have drawn experience from.

He however warned the federation against contracting the services of an expatriate coach he described as a waste of time and money.

His warning stemmed from the appointment of a consortium of coaches led by Shaibu Amodu to steer the Super Eagles through the remaining two AFCON 2015 qualifying matches.

“I do not subscribe to a foreign coach; the issue we have at hand is for those who know Nigeria, who know our league, our players and ready to work. There is no foreign coach that we want to bring now that will show the commitment that Shaibu will show” Laloko told Sports Vanguard over the phone.

“I worked with six or seven of them and they know nothing, the only one I will always give credit to in terms of his attitude to the job, motivation, and organization would be Philippe Troussier. I think employing a foreign coach would be a waste of time and our money too”, he added.