Sinclair Wants Home Eagles Against Wasps

Politics By Leadership Newspaper

Former Super Eagles’ coach, Monday Sinclair wants home-based players to prosecute Nigeria’s 2013 Africa Nations Cup qualifier in June.

Both nations battled to a scoreless draw in the first leg on February 29 in Kigali and with a ticket to the next round of Africa’s premier soccer showpiece on the line, Sinclair believes the home lads would be Keshi’s best bet to guarantee success in the tie. “The coach (Keshi) is doing the right thing. We need more matches like that (the one against Egypt in Dubai) as it would boost their confidence,” Sinclair told SuperSport.com.

The Super Eagles made up of players from the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) defeated Liberia’s Lone Star 2-0 in Monrovia in February in another friendly game and Sinclair says the home lads have now earned their stripes with the national team. “They have proved that they are not inferior to the foreign-based stars. The local players are hungrier and they are keen to make a name for themselves and the country. I would advise Keshi to use a home-based team for the (CAN) qualifier against Rwanda in Nigeria.”

But the former Sharks’ coach said he was shocked at the move by the NFF to engage a Belgian as the technical director explaining that ‘a lot of Nigerian coaches would have done better.’ “I won’t mention any names but I know a lot of Nigerian coaches who would have done a much better job compared to (Saintfiet). We seem to value foreigners more in our football. I recall going for courses on football issues alongside foreigners in the past and I did much better (than the foreigners). We need to start valuing our own a bit more,” he concluded.