Posted by By Osasu Obayiuwana on
Philippe Troussier has told BBC Sport that he will not be returning to Nigeria to manage the country's national team.
Philippe Troussier has told BBC Sport that he will not be returning to Nigeria to manage the country's national team.
Troussier, who was the choice of a panel that interviewed him in London between 16-17 July, said that a nagging health problem will not allow him to sign a contract with the Nigeria Football Association (NFA).
"I have decided to stop negotiations with the NFA," Troussier, who previously managed Nigeria in 1997, told BBC Sport on Tuesday.
"After my last meeting with officials of the NFA, I travelled over the last three days to see my surgeon in Paris.
"After the meeting with his medical staff, we have decided to operate on my knee at the beginning of September.
"It would be exactly like the last one I had on my other knee, for a cartilage problem.
"I will need three months of rehabilitation after the surgery.
"[As a result] I will not be in a position to take up the responsibility of helping the team qualify for the next World Cup," he told BBC Sport.
But the former Olympique Marseille coach was also worried about Nigeria's precarious position in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers.
Trailing behind Angola in Group Four, the Super Eagles could fail to qualify for Germany 2006 even if they win their remaining two matches against Algeria and Zimbabwe.
Should Angola win their remaining games against Gabon and Rwanda, the Southern Africans will qualify ahead of Nigeria, who would then miss out on the World Cup finals for the first time in twelve years.
"Football is unpredictable but I think Nigeria has a less than ten per cent chance of going to Germany," Troussier told BBC Sport.
"I have no interest to take this risk. Even if they win the remaining two matches, there is no guarantee of going to the World Cup.
"If a new coach comes in now and they fail to qualify for Germany, there will be a big problem for him," he argued.
"I am not interested to develop a long-term policy because a failure to reach the World Cup could even threaten Nigeria's preparation for the Cup of Nations."
Troussier, who has also managed the national teams of Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Qatar and Japan, said the NFA should allow caretaker manager Austin Eguavoen and assistant Samson Siasia prove their worth by taking charge of the last two games.
"I think they should take charge of this situation. It is a big challenge they would want to manage."
NFA chairman Ibrahim Galadima told BBC Sport that he will take a personal position on the latest development by the end of the week.