Former Super Eagles midfielder Duke Udi has told interim coach Augustine Eguavoen that his performance at the helm would determine the kind of reactions he gets from the fans.
Despite guiding the national team to the AFCON qualification, many have criticised Eguavoen’s side following their disappointing 2-1 loss to Rwanda in their final qualifier game, and Udi has echoed this same sentiment.
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Udi’s message to Eguavoen
The former Enyimba midfielder, who also urged the gaffer to drop underperforming players, stated that when a team is not performing well, the majority of the blame falls on the coach, whereas if the team excels, the gaffer receives the glory.
“In football, if a coach is given five years, it all boils down to the results of the 3-5 games he plays. That ‘five years’ is only on paper. Behind the scenes, it might not even last three weeks, Udi told Brila.
”AS Roma have changed two coaches this season because of results. The fans have every right to voice their opinions. If you are a coach and don’t want to be criticized, then deliver results. When the team performs well, everyone shares the glory.
”In coaching, once the team is not doing well, the bulk of the blame falls on the head coach. There is no permanent job in this field—it’s all temporary. What makes your job permanent is consistent results.
”If we look at Eguavoen’s results, they are fair. But if we look at the performances of the players and as a team, we are not playing anything. In the last game, we couldn’t even make six consecutive passes,”
Meanwhile, Eguavoen has asked Nigerians to exercise patience with the Super Eagles, due to the limited amount of time players have to train during international breaks.
