By John Egbokhan
Former assistant coach of the Super Eagles, Joe Erico has said that the present crop of players under Coach Samson Siasia still have a long a way to go in their quest to become star players, capable of doing the nation proud at continental tournaments.

Speaking against the backdrop of the 3-1 thrashing handed to Nigeria by Argentina in an international friendly played midweek in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Erico said that some of the Nigerians showed that they were still rookies in the modern day game, a a phenomenon which he said contributed in part to the loss.

Erico, who spoke to reporters in Lagos, said that Siasia still has a mountain of work to do in his quest to make the Eagles a truly super team.

“What the match against Argentina brought out was the fact that some of the players who Siasia plans to build the future Eagles around are just not it, in terms of technical play and match presence.

Someone like Solomon Okoronkwo has actually shown hat he is not serious about becoming a real Eagles.

“He lacks the presence on the field and does not play for the team. Ordinarily, he is a good player but he must brace up to the realities of the times. Football is a competitive game. The competition is becoming more intense on a daily basis and for us to succeed, our players must sit up or ship out.

“In terms of continental superpowers, these present Eagles still have a long way to go and it is Siasia’s job to make them what we desire them to be. We want a team that we can be proud of,a team that can hold their own against the likes of Messi, not the kind of team that was running after the Argentine superstar, without stopping him in his tracks”, added Erico.