NFF To Name Eagles Coach Monday

[caption id="attachment_9833" align="alignnone" width="620"]Amaju Pinnick, NFF President[/caption]

**Le Guen Favourite To Land The Job – 
Following Friday’s shortlisting of candidates to replace Sunday Oliseh for the position of Super Eagles’ Head Coach, the executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation is set to name a new gaffer for the Eagles on Monday 18th July.

Among those who were shortlisted are former Ethiopian coach, Tom Sainfiet, Super Eagles’ caretaker coach, Salisu Yusuf, and Frenchman Paul Le Guen.

However sources close to this medium have indicated that the Glass House is most likely to pick former Olympique Lyon and Cameroun coach, Paul Le Guen for the top job.

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According to reports, the Frenchman who is believed to have been in constant communication with the NFF since April this year was said to have agreed a deal in June to lead the Eagles to Russia 2018 World Cup.

“He knows our players very well and how to use them. In our meeting with him earlier, Paul (Le Guen) demonstrated to us his capacity to turn around our football. We are also looking at reaping from his knowledge of both Cameroun where he coached the Indomitable Lions and Algeria who are desperate to have him,” a top official said last month.

The 52-year-old Frenchman played for Brest, Nantes and Paris Saint Germain and won 17 caps for France, before coaching Rennes, Lyon, PSG (in France) and Glasgow Rangers (in Scotland).

He qualified the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals and also coached Oman.

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The source however added that interim coach, Salisu Yusuf, will remain as a second assistant to Le Guen when hired.

Yusuf is one of three coaches on the NFF short list for the Super Eagles job.

Salisu however had earlier made it clear he is fed up of being an assistant and wants the role on permanent basis.

They, however, want Yusuf to join the new team as a chief coach with a better contract.

Speaking to AfricanFootball.com, another official said: “The officials want Salisu to work with the foreign coach, not under him. He will understudy the new man with the plan to take over the team thereafter.

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“They hope they can get him to agree this new arrangement especially as he will bring continuity to the team having worked with most of the country’s players for more than a year.

“He will also be given more responsibilities, like heading the home-based Eagles, which as assistant Eagles coach, he did not enjoy.

“And all his unpaid salaries will also be cleared.”

But it remains to be seen if the former Kano Pillars coach will accept the offer to serve in that capacity under a third coach.

Meanwhile former Super Eagles’ players Austin Eguavoen and Mutiu Adepoju over the weekend, aired their opinions on the new coach and the 2018 World Cup.

According to the duo, who spoke in a separate interview, the Eagles qualification for the 2018 World Cup is achievable, if only the players raise their game.

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“No doubt, it looks tough, but we have faced similar situations in the past,” Adepoju said.

“We qualified for the 1994 World Cup in Algeria, in front of their fans and I believe we can repeat that ’94 feat because we have the players who are youthful and motivated by hunger for success.

“The boys must up their game and should be wary of errors. We have to bring out our character, the never-say-die Nigerian character. Qualification is achievable.”

Eguavon on his part, believes that good start to the qualification campaign will earn the Eagles a spot at the World Cup, while calling on the NFF to speed up the process of appointing the new coach

“We have a strong group. Everything would hinge on how they begin in Lusaka against the Chipolopolo. A win, or even a draw in Zambia could give them a psychological edge over their subsequent opponents.

“Preparations must start in earnest. The new coach must come on board fast as there is no time to waste.”

With the Russia 2018 qulaifiers closing in, Nigeria alongside Africa’s football power houses like Algeria, Cameroun and Zambia will slug it out in Group B.

It is now the desire of all Nigerians that the new coaching crew for the Super Eagles will qualify the team to Russia 2018, we hope the NFF make the right choice.

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