Keshi: Congolese will be hostile
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has warned his squad to expect nothing less than a hostile Congo when the sides clash in 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying action this weekend.
Keshi is expecting nothing less than a full-blooded encounter, saying: “The Congolese can be hostile, we have experienced it several times but we don’t know how it is going to come on Saturday.
Head coach Stephen Keshi of Nigeria gestures during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group F match between Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina at Arena Pantanal on June 21, 2014 in Cuiaba, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Mason – FIFA/FIFA
“But we have been talking to the players because African football requires the African mentality.”
Keshi’s continued presence with Nigeria remains steeped in controversy, with the tactician not officially contracted as head coach following the expiration of his previous deal earlier this year.
He explained: “I have not had any meeting with NFF. I have had meeting with the minister, that’s all. The minister was the one that asked me to come. You all know that we don’t have contract, we are just doing what we can for our country. We also want our country to excel, that’s why we are here.
Also going by the sparkling performance of the players in camp and a strong case made by Super Eagles boss, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), leadership agreed that all 25 players who have been in camp in the last week travel for the duel against Congo this weekend and play South Africa next Wednesday.
An obviously happy Keshi, who spoke through his assistant, Dan ‘the Bull’ Amokachi and team administrator, Dayo Enebi Achor, announced that the team will also be led by NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, but will have such eminent person-alities as the Senate Committee Chairman on Sports, Sen Ibrahim Gumba and a member of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Hon Mudashiru Oyetu-nde on board the flight to Congo.
The chartered Discovery Airliner is expected to take approximately three hours to get to Congo Brazzaville. Keshi simply said at the end of the training session that the team worked hard enough and the result will show on Saturday. “Tell Nigerians to just pray for the team and believe that we can deliver”, he declared.
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