By Ime Bassey
Following the appointment of Dutchman, Lodewijk de Kruif as the new technical adviser of Heartland FC, teams’ media officer,  Cajetan Nkwopara has said his appointment is to allow for the Owerri based team get direct dealings in international transfer market and also put the club on the radial of foreign investors.

Making this known to inside out Nigerian Premier League, Nkwopara said de Kruif was employed because of his pedigree as a player and sound coach.

De Kruif

“The major reason for his appointment is for us to have a direct transaction in the international transfer market and also to have foreign clubs and investors  look our way. We are tired of having middle men when it comes to players’ transfer, so we had to strategise on how to get a coach that is sound in the game (technically and tactically) and also someone who has a good management ability in terms of players’ management as it refers to the growth of the club entirely.

“Besides wanting an all round football manager, we looked his direction because we discovered that he has a good coaching pedigree built over his long years as a footballer. Actually he retired from the game as a footballer in 1996. After his retirement, he started as a youth coach in which he did well.

“To crown his selection, is our tradition of having high profile coaches in our dugout which no team has taken away from us over the years and so, we cannot go below what had been established in the Club’s history.

“Since the 80s, we are used to having coaches with pedigree, like that of Samson Siasia, Alphonsus Dike, Monday Sinclair, Christian Chukwu, even John Obuh who is in-charge of the U-21 now. So we are keeping with our tradition.

Reacting to Chukwu’s appointment, he said it is only for the moment, as he is to supervise the team in all areas until the arrival of the Dutch technical Adviser.