Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi, was at the Eagles Park in Ikeja recently as a guest at the MTN Football Hub. He spoke with reporters on football matters...ExcerptHowto develop Nigerias footballFor us to truly develop the system, the U-17 team should be taken as developmental group and we de-emphasise the win mentality. So how can we achieve that you may ask' We need to go back to high schools and start nurturing these kids at 13 and 14 years. Let them just learn the tactical and later they can start thinking of winning. Tell me, how many of those kids that played the FIFA U-17 World Cup play U-20 and how many are playing in U-23 today'We need to develop our football at the U-17 stage. The U-20 is where you inculcate the winning attitude; but in U-17 you simply develop the skills. In developed countries, you have Feeders. But you dont have a 25-year-old and call him a feeder.Players CommitmentThe attitude problem does not begin with the players; the attitude begins with the officials. It is from the head. If the head does not move, the players will not move an inch. In my team I make it clear that if you must stay, there is a rule of law you must respect. The relationship is about sharing respect and letting the players know that they are important. Players play for their coach. We look at it this way. If we like our coach, we will die for our coach. If we dont there is a problem. And perhaps that is where the attitude problem comes from.And again the training session must be something they enjoy; it must be fun. And there are a lot of things that the leadership needs to put in place. The players look upon the leaders. So there is a place for coaching but there is a lot of psychology and mental education involved as well for the team to take the tournaments serious.When we arrived in Mali, the players didnt like themselves that much. And the journalists came to us and asked how could cope knowing that our players didnt like each other. But we started talking, inviting everybody to talk. The players responded well and the journalists were amazed.You know, when you hit a kid with one hand, you have to console him with the other hand.The journalists also cause a lot of problems in Nigerian football. Their write-ups put the coaches under a lot of pressure. In Mali, for instance, if a player doesnt want to play, the journalists will pressurise him rather than put pressure on the coach. Here, if a player is not doing well, the media should let the people know instead of publishing: Keshi are you going to sanction him or not'Mafia and Big Boss appellationsHow do you conclude that Keshi was a mafia' I was only trying to move the team forward and I was trying to make sure that Nigerians were happy.This is also what is missing in the national camp now; there is nobody leading in a way. There must be one on the field that represents the coach and the players will listen. Clemens Westerhof was having fun because I was there. I was doing the job of Westerhof on the field. This is because I wanted Nigeria to win so I wanted to do beyond what I was supposed to do.It is just like every other establishment. There is always a key employee and if he is not there his absence is felt. Right now, Joseph Yobo is the man, he is the captain. I have to give him all the support, because I want him to carry my job out there. The mafia stuff you talked about is just because I was the spokesman, I was the captain.Team successIn Togo, when the national team is playing, starting from a day before the match, everybody will be on yellow tee-shirt. Some ministers of the country will be on yellow tee-shirt. So it is about everybody in the country being part of the team.In 1994 we had some great individuals that were with us: Late (MKO) Abiola was always with us; Augustus Aikhomu was also there and they played great roles. Aikhomu used to arrive at Ota, Ogun State before the team. That confidence was what drove the team then. The players would say to themselves Ah! These people believe in us, lets make them proud and they go the extra mile.Nigerian fans are great supporters. But they need to know that if the team is struggling, thats when they need the support more and not to kill their spirit when they are down. Some players dont have the heart to handle it. So there are a lot of factors to consider; its not just the team.
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