By Victor Enyinnaya on October 5, 2015

Ex-international, Victor Ikpeba, has called for a united national team, even as he identified one of the problems of the Super Eagles as the absence of a creative midfield leader that could readily shape and define the pace of the game. He, therefore, called on the team’s coach, Sunday Oliseh, to look critically inwards to ensure that he would get hold of that vital area in the field of play.

According to him, the games played so far under the Oliseh-led technical crew clearly showed that the former African Champions lacked creative leader in the middle of the pack and must do something urgently possible to fix that area. He said that if we can get who would do the needful in the midfield, the problem of the Eagles would have been half solved, as we can take it from there.

He stressed: “I must emphasise that unless there is a midfield leader in the present squad, things would continue to be muddled up and the pressure would also not lessen on the defence line. The engine room of any side is the strength of its midfield. And the earlier that department is properly fixed the better for the side, as it gears up for the more crucial stage of the qualifiers. We all saw the game against the Taifa Stars in the battle of Dar es Salaam during the last qualifier, how the lack of midfield leader placed the Eagles more on the receiving end. The coach must find the lasting solution to it before the epic match against Egypt next March. Egypt is more coordinated team than Chad and Tanzania we have played so far. It will be great service if we can put our house in order quickly”

The former African Player of the Year added that the very essence of the friendly games against Cameroun and Congo are to ensure that all flaws in the team would be fine-tuned before the crucial game against our group leader, Egypt. He advised that the need to comb deeply to fish out dependable Nigerian players that would add value to the team is now. The areas that would be adequately fortified must have been identified after the games against Tanzania and the friendly with Niger Republic.The compact build-up of the Nigerian side would be uppermost in the reckoning of the technical crew than the immediate result. Therefore, any lad that would be needed in the side has to be invited to come down and contribute his quota. Nigerians need results: no more, no less. Oliseh must also ensure that there is unity amongst the players.

He counseled: “I have confidence that if the technical crew is able to build stronger synergy between it and the players up to the period when Nigeria would come face-to-face with the Egyptian national side, the Eagles must have been fully evolved and ready to confront any side headlong. We all knew that it won’t be an easy one against Egypt. However, it is one match that anything can happen in both legs. I believe that with the depth of planning, determination and focus, we will not be found wanting at the end of the day. The secret should be to build one strong and united camp where every player would be carried along. Let there be no animosity whatsoever as we match towards the conquest of our opponents. The common target would be to ensure we pick the sole ticket from the group, no matter how difficult it might look; with united force we can surmount it.”

•Photo shows Ikpeba.

Source News Express

Posted October 5, 2015

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