PH Mundial – Port Harcourt Online Newspaper News across the Niger Delta
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A football pundit in Rivers State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has called for the renewal contract of the Super Eagles Coach, Eric Chelle to continue to lead the team having guided the Super Eagles to winning bronze at the 2025 AFCON Championship held in Morocco.
Okonkwo while fielding questions from sportwriters maintained that it was not a contestable fact that Super Eagles players were very delightful to watch at the last AFCON Championship, given their resilience and improve standard of play under the tutellage of Coach Eric Chelle.
“I stand to be corrected that any attempt to relieve coach Chelle of the Eagles job now and going to bring in a new coach to mount the saddle will amount to starting afresh and it will be counter productive and I therefore, timely suggest that coach Eric Chelle’s contract should be renewed for him to continue to tinker the Super Eagles team”.
“Truly, experience had shown that this idea of firing of coaches very often from Eagles team has been identified as one of the major reasons why Nigeria National team has not been doing well at International Sports meet”.
“In fact, apart from coach Clemense Westerhof, who had a long spell coaching the Eagles team that did well in USA 1994 World Cup, there has never been any foreign coach engaged to lead the Eagles that had been allowed to stay for more than two or three years before he will be fired”.
“I think it will not be result oriented to engage a new coach now, having seen that Eric Chelle has not done badly instead he is gradually winning the heart of teeming Nigerians Soccer fans and the same time, knowing their behavioural attitude of Nigeria players and style of play”.
“I therefore, pray that Nigerians should learn how to be patient and tolerate their coaches and not always be in a hurry to get positive result at once”.
“Believe me, it is very difficult to seeing a coach winning a trophy for the first year he is engaged in a club, instead should be allowed for some time to study the terrain and possibly impact his winning strategies on his boys before the expectant results will start coming”.
Commenting on the hosting right for the 2028 Nations Cup given to Morocco again, the outspoken Okonkwo held the view that there is nothing one could do since it is only CAF that has the perogative to decide on where it will be held which favours Morocco because of the availabilities of facilities on their ground.
“Regrettably, it will be difficult for Nigeria to be given the hosting right because there is no standard stadium, apart from Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo”.
“Besides, CAF is also cautious of insecurity in Nigeria, hence would not risk the lives of the African citizens in accepting to organized a very big Championship like Nations Cup in Nigeria”, he summed up.