SAMSON SIASIA
Samson Siasia is not getting carried away with the praise he has been receiving since the Nigeria Football Federation named him the Super Eagles coach on November 4.
The Tunisia ‘94 Nations Cup winner was elevated to cult hero status within the Nigerian football circle immediately the NFF picked him ahead of his former Eagles teammate Stephen Keshi for the plum job.
But speaking at his unveiling in Abuja on Wednesday, the former Nantes striker insisted he was aware of the difficult task ahead.
Siasia said, ”I‘m happy that finally a dream has come true. I thank the fans, the media and the NFF.
”I promise to do everything humanly possible to make sure the Eagles fly again. The next time you see the Eagles, they will be a different team.
”We will work very hard to ensure we have in place a formidable Super Eagles that will be the pride of all and that will make everybody happy.”
The 43-year-old, who signed a four-year contract with the NFF at the ceremony, faces a challenge to hand Nigeria a ticket to the 2012 Nations Cup to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
The Eagles defeated Madagascar 2-0 in their first Nations Cup qualifying game in Calabar and lost 1-0 to Guinea in their second qualifier in Conakry in October. They are three points behind group leaders Guinea after two matches with only the eventual group winners guaranteed automatic qualification to the tournament.
The NFF President Aminu Maigari, who defended the decision to engage Siasia for the job, said the former Flying Eagles coach would receive the necessary support from the football house.
”Our football is in the emergency ward but we have a coach that is capable of pulling the Super Eagles out of this troubling situation,” BBC Sport quoted Maigari as saying.
”His contract is performance rewarding – he will get bonuses and benefits based on the performance of the team.
”We expect him (Siasia) to hit the ground running as expectations are high. He is the people‘s choice and with the collective support of everyone, we can all achieve success.”
Source:http://www.punchng.com/
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