Out
of contract Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has given conditions that would
make him consider if he will continue as coach of the national team.
Keshi
who led Nigeria to yet another round of 16 finish at the world cup after 20
years, revealed that he was ready to move on, if he was not given better
conditions to work as Nigerian coach. He added that he has several offers
including that of South Africa, which, according to him is most likely to
happen.
He
submitted that he would very much love to continue with the "Nigerian
project" he has started: "But if the offer isn't good enough for me,
then I will explore other options and possibly move on to another challenge.
It's always a good thing when you experience other climates," said the
coach who was widely reported to have thrown in the towel after the Eagles were
dismissed from the world cup by France.
However,
in considering the Nigerian job, Keshi said that there must have to be changes
in the way the Nigerian Football Federation relates to coaches under its
employ.
"Well
for starters, my previous contract was never respected. I was paying one of my
assistants (Valere Houandonou) for over a year, my former assistant Sylvanus
Okpala was sacked without my consent and those things just never made sense.
"I
mean Nigeria is my country and I love my country, but I'm out of contract now
so I have to move on. I have spent over two years as coach of Nigeria, and
Nigeria flows in my veins but I just have to move on.
"If
the offer comes, we will sit down and talk and if there's something concrete,
then we'll see how it goes. I have several offers but it's South Africa that
have been very vocal about their offer, so that's the way it is.
“I’ve given my heart to Nigeria, I have done it
for the country for years. I played as a captain of the national team for
14years so this isn't about heart anymore. It's now about professionalism, I am
a professional football coach and that is all I do. I have kids in the
university that I have to feed and I can't do that by 'heart'. Doing the
'heart' thing cannot work anymore, because that isn't going to put food on my
table," Keshi quipped as he chatted with SL10.
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