I don’t have a team yet –Keshi

[DT]

     Super Eagles Head Coach Stephen Keshi has sensationally revealed that he is yet to raise a team for Nigeria, even as he said he has abundant quality players to pick as national team materials from within and outside the country.

Keshi, who stated this in a chat with reporters at the weekend, explained that what he is currently doing at the moment is picking talented players that will be groomed to national team materials. "What I said was that I am building and we have players but I don't have a team yet and this is one thing I want you guys to let Nigerians know; they should know that we don't have a team yet and we are still building.

"I am picking, if you are good I keep you, but if you are not good, I tell you to go, that is what I am doing, and fort a period of time I will start working on the chemistry of the players, and then I start saying we have a team", Keshi stated.

Speaking further, Keshi said in as much as he has no plans to visit England to monitor Nigerian players in the English Premier League, would like to travel to Germany to watch one of Nigeria's emerging stars, Sydney Sam who plies his trade with Bayern Leverkusen, and is on the verge of being capped by Germany.

"If I want to take a trip, I will probably want to take a trip to Germany because of this boy who is playing for Bayern Leverkusen that the Germans are trying to cap. I have forgotten his name now, he is one guy I would like to go out and watch because I don't know him and I have not talked to him.

"But I can't go to England to watch the likes of Taye Taiwo and co. because I have watched them play, so I don't need that.

"But if it is about a new player, yes I will like to do that; I also need to monitor more of my local players here because they need all the support and training for them to attain that level we want.

"We were talking about him and one journalist called and told me about him, but I am yet to talk to the FA, but I will see what we can do. Chris Green also called me a few days ago and told me about him, but I said if you give me information about him and contact, I will contact him and will take it from there", Keshi added.

On the quality of the Super Eagles team he wants to build for Nigeria, the former Super Eagles Captain explained that he wants to assemble a team of quality 22 players that Nigerians will be proud of.

"I don't want to bring in anyhow player; I want to bring in a player that will contribute because we need a solid team. We need a 22-man team that Nigerians will be happy that this is the team we want.

"We need to revive the Nigerian spirit in our national team, that resilient spirit that is no longer in our team has to come back and it has to come back through the best players. It will come back by God's grace", he concluded.


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Daily Trust