Nigeria head coach Stephen Keshi has hailed the spirit
in the Eagles camp ahead of the
Super Eagles' 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game against Liberia on
Saturday.
The West African giants face a massive test against the Lone Stars in Monrovia
in order to determine if they will get the ticket to take part in
african cup of Nations in South Africa come January.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the last edition that
was co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea earlier
in this year.
"The good thing about the present Super Eagles team
is that they are well acquinted with each other, They have been
together so it's only very little thing that I would bring in to cement them
together and make a solid team out of them," said Keshi during the
team's media parley
held on Wednesday.
"They know each other, they have played with
each other in the Nigerian league and they have been friends so now it is
just left to me to put the chemistry
on the field together as well as the commitment
level that yes we have to defend our nation at this challenging time.
"With what I saw during training yesterday, the
oneness that exists in the team is great. We have stayed together
since June which has really manifested and works to the advantage of
the team. Yesterday I
saw a great atmosphere
on the field and in the
dining hall when we were eating you could see that they know what we
want and are ready for it.
"It is going to be a
different ball game when we play Liberia on Saturday unlike the last
time we beat them during a
friendly match. Each game has its own gaming spirit, own day and this
game against Liberia on Saturday is a
different ball game entirely, different spirit, different
state of mind and we have to stay 100 percent as
regards concentration to get what we want out of the match. I
don't think there is any coach, not even Jose Mourinho
[of Real Madrid] that can build a strong team over the night. So all I
can tell you is that we are going out there to perform and deliver our
best.
When asked if he fails to achieve his mission, would
he think of resigning from the teams job ?
Keshi responded that "If it degenerate to that point, why wouldn't I?
On the call by President Goodluck Jonathan charging the team to beat
the Lone Stars in Monrovia come Sunday, the former
Mali Coach said it was a normal call which isn't expected to put any
undue pressure on the team.
"There is no pressure, it is all about motivating the
team, The Director General of National Sports Commission (NSC) Chief
Patrick Ekeji was in our
hotel camp to also
ginger the team to victory . So it is
a good sign to see our big ogas in our camp, it is so good," he stated.
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