THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) yesterday said it disappointed by recent comments attributed to former Super Eagles' Captain, Sunday Oliseh, over the process that produced Stephen Keshi as new Head Coach of the senior national team.Describing the comments as unfortunate, the NFF in a release by its Media Officer, Ademola Olajire, said 'Oliseh's coaching pedigree and assumed capabilities have not been demonstrated; they exist largely in the media.'Quoting the Technical Committee Chairman, Christopher Green, the release added: 'He has to demonstrate those assumed qualities at appropriate levels. As far as we are concerned, he did not react like a true sportsman.'Green continued: 'You would expect someone like him, whom we suppose has sense of maturity and decency, to simply congratulate his former Captain, Mr. Keshi and gracefully accept the decision of the NFF, which has been hailed by the vast majority. Instead, he is saying the wrong things and trying to run the NFF down.'How can Oliseh imagine that he will favourably compete with Keshi in an interview for senior team coaching position' How can anyone reasonably compare someone who has qualified a team to the FIFA World Cup finals and coached two different teams at the African Cup of Nations, at senior level, to someone who has only been dealing with junior ones and pupils''The NFF is proud to have appointed Keshi and we know he has capacity to take our football to the very top. Oliseh should work harder in the years ahead to earn some stripes in order to qualify to be considered for senior team coaching.'Green also wants Oliseh to be definite and resolved about the role he wishes to play in Nigeria football.'At first, he contested the position of Head Coach of Super Eagles with Keshi and Siasia, and lost. Siasia got the job based on his achievements with the junior and intermediate teams. Oliseh has nothing like that to show or to stand him in good stead. Months later, he wanted to be Technical Director. After the Eagles failed to qualify for the Cup of Nations and it was apparent Siasia would be asked to go, Oliseh suddenly reverted to wanting to be Head Coach.'This should not be so. He should first sort out this confusion before trying to condemn others. The NFF Technical Sub-Committee is made up of eminent Nigerians, with several former captains of the Super Eagles and other highly qualified coaches and technical persons. At every point in time, we know what we are doing. No one can pull wool over our eyes,' stated Green.
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