Super Eagles coach, Austin Eguavoen yesterday gave clear perspective as to why the game against the Black Stars of Ghana was off, revealing that he was not informed on time about it and secondly he will be going for a refresher course from August 11 to 23 that he has enrolled for since April.
"The date was not suitable to me and the team," he said, explaining that he would be engaged in a refresher course in Holland between August 11 and 23.
"I registered for this course a long time ago so I can't abandon it for the friendly," he added.
He stated that apart from the course, the friendly coincided with the beginning of the soccer season in Europe which would make it difficult to secure the release of players for the match.
"The new football season will just be about three days old at the time of the match and I will want our players to start the season with their clubs where they earn their living. It is just not convenient," he stressed.
He said the cancellation was also because there were no guarantees that enough players could be assembled.
Eguavoen added that he would have allowed the match to go on even in his absence but his fears stemmed from being short of players.
"I don't want us to experience situations that played out during the Nigeria/Romania friendly, where the National team performed poorly because there was no proper guidance. The best option was to call it off," he said.
"I don't want a situation where the media would hammer me. We beg clubs to secure the release of players for important matches, let alone ordinary friendlies," he added.
He said he would rather concentrate on the Nation's Cup qualifiers now around the corner.
Eguavoen said that he had initiated contacts with clubs where Nigerians play so as to enable him secure their release on time whenever the need arose.
He said the friendly also failed because it was not properly planned, saying that long-term planning must be adopted if the country wants to succeed. source:
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