By John Egbokhan

A former boss of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Kojo Williams insists that Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr is a class above other coaches, who have handled the Super Eagles in the last 15 years.

Gernot-Rohr

Speaking to Saturday Vanguard Sports, Kojo, who believes Eagles are looking good to qualify for the next FIFA World Cup in Russia, wants the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to keep

Rohr for as long as possible to enable the team imbibe the new coaching culture that has gotten the team soaring again.

Eagles are the surprise pacesetters of the proverbial group of death, comprising three former AFCON winners, Cameroon, Algeria and Zambia, having won all two of their matches to scoop maximum six points, four more than their closest rivals, Cameroon, who they play next when the the qualification campaign resumes in August 2017.

An ardent critic of the Eagles before now, Kojo said he has been impressed with the passing game, fitness level and tactical display of the current squad under the direction of Franco-German coach, Rohr.

Speaking for the first time since Nigeria’s 3-1 victory over Algeria, rated as one of the form teams in Africa, Kojo attributed the improvement in the Eagles to Rohr, who he dubbed as knowledgeable, intelligent and tactically sound.

According to Kojo, “I see improvement in this team and it is down to the coach. He has clearly shown that he knows what he is doing with the team. He knows what he wants better than anyone of those coaches I have seen with the team in the last 15 years. He is better than all of them and that is the truth”.

Advancing reasons for his view, Kojo said, “considering where our football was before he was signed, the team have improved in their passing game, they look fitter and purposeful with the ball. They are quite good and the results are there to see.

“Algeria are a technically and tactically good team, with talented players but the tactics of Rohr were so good that we contained them. We would have scored more had we created more intensity when attacking, an area that he must work on.

“He is barely about four months on the job, so I don’t expect a complete side overnight but the improvements I have seen basically show that the former coaches, local and foreign had no business managing our team. He is better than all of them.

“It is not as if he has the best players in the world but he knows how to use them to achieve his aim. He is tactically sound and I am impressed with what he has done within a short time.

“We are loving the team again. But they have to work harder, but from what he has done in the last few months, it shows that he is working hard on them. He is an intelligent coach. All that we can just hope is that he gets to stay with us for more years, so that his work can truly reflect in this team and our football will be better for it”, added Kojo.