AFCON 2013: Gaiya not sure of Eagles

The Lawmaker made his position known even before the Eagles were drawn in Group C of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations with defending champions, Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia. While speaking at the just at the just concluded Nigeria National League Super Cup competition in Abuja, the committee chairman said he does see the […]

The Lawmaker made his position known even before the Eagles were drawn in Group C of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations with defending champions, Zambia, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.

While speaking at the just at the just concluded Nigeria National League Super Cup competition in Abuja, the committee chairman said he does see the Eagles as a complete team because what he sees the Eagles playing presently is individual football.

He noted that as individual players, they Eagles are wonderful players but when talking about playing as a team, they are yet to reach there.

Gaiya said the Eagles coaches must work harder in building a complete team that will show greater understanding in the defence, the midfield and attack.

His words: “What we have now is a team of individual players struggling to play together. Before we go South Africa, we have at least two months to prepare. We must find a way of playing as a team so that when we go to South Africa we can really deliver.

“ And know that having won this championship twice, and  having been barren in the last 19 or so years, we are suppose to go there and prove that Nigeria is back to reckoning. The only thing that can gladden the hearts of Nigeria is for us to go to South Africa and win the trophy”.

Although he wants the team strengthened, Gaiya said throwing the camp open at this late hour would be counter-productive so the coaches should find a more decent way of raising a solid team for the championship.

“The danger of throwing the camp open is like starting from the scratch. The coach said he has been building a team and if he has been building by now he must have got a foundation. So the best thing will be to build on that foundation.

“Giving everybody a chance would not be right because we do not have the time. It will be like starting from day one again. I don’t think we have enough time to embark on such an exercise. They should build on what they have started so that in the next two, three months, we should have a complete team”, he advised.