Ex- international, Monday Odiaka, has charged the Super Eagles technical crew to carry out overhaul of the home-based Eagles as that is the only way the team can put up a good performance at the 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) slated for South Africa next January.
The Coach Stephen Keshi-tutored side last Saturday fell 0-2 in Abidjan to Elephants of Cote d'Ivoire, but qualified on 4-3 aggregate to book their first tournament ticket for the championship created for home-based players in the continent.
He told our correspondent that having qualified for the competition after failing on two previous occasions, there is need for the technical crew to begin preparations in earnest to enable it have a good team that will write the name of the country in gold in South Africa.
"It is a good thing that we surmounted all odds in Cote d'Ivoire to qualify for the 2014 CHAN for the first time since its introduction in 2009, but the technical crew must re-organise the team before the commencement of the championship.
"There is the need for Keshi to beam his searchlight more on discovering players from the domestic league that can be invited to beef up the team ahead of the tournament," Odiaka said.
The former defunct ACB Football Club striker while admitting that Nigeria is capable of lifting the trophy noted that victory for the Super Eagles Team B will only depend on the level of preparation and the determination of the players to actualise this dream.
"The fact that the home-based Super Eagles will be featuring in the championship for the first time does not mean they cannot add the trophy to our collections, but to achieve this, the team needs to prepare very well and play with determination before they can think of winning the championship," Odiaka cautioned.
The former youth international who was one of the most feared strikers in the continent during his playing days, praised Keshi for embarking on the rebuilding process of the national team and urged him to continue with the process which he says has brought a new lease of life in Eagles.
According to him, Keshi has through his successes shown Nigerians that the country's coaches are capable of handling the senior national team, even as he charged Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to create an enabling environment for him and the team to win more laurels for the country.
"I am really happy that Keshi has silenced some critics who never believed in Nigerian coaches with his performance since being appointed chief coach of the national team.
His victorious outing with the Super Eagles at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa is an indication that our home-based coaches are as good as their foreign counterparts.
"Keshi's records show that with proper planning and co-ordination, Nigerian coaches can surpass their counterparts from other parts of the world and I want to use this opportunity to call on the NFF to give him support so that our national team will continue to win more laurels for the country," the former Flying Eagles play maker concluded.
National Mirror