Posted by By Folake Olujimi on
SUPER Eagles assistant coach, Samson Siasia, has revealed that he will dump the national team once he formalises his contract with Thailand by the end of the year, saying the package the Asians presented to him is enough to drag him away from Nigeria.
SUPER Eagles assistant coach, Samson Siasia, has revealed that he will dump the national team once he formalises his contract with Thailand by the end of the year, saying the package the Asians presented to him is enough to drag him away from Nigeria.
Siasia, who spoke with The Guardian yesterday, hopes he would have sorted out the little details of the contract with Thailand by the end of this year, adding, 'by then, my contract with the Super Eagles would have been over.'
According to Siasia, "the money they are offering me for the job is okay and I think nothing will stop me from going for the job. This is the time for me to reap from what I have laboured for. I have sacrificed enough for this country and I don't think it is wrong for me to enjoy myself now."
Promising that he would do his best to see that Nigeria qualifies for the World Cup, Siasia said now was the time to move on as he still has to gather more experience in his chosen career.
Meanwhile, contrary to popular belief that members of the 2005 Flying Eagles are ripe enough to graduate to the senior team, Siasia thinks otherwise. He said the players still need to gather the required experience needed for senior national team football, adding that the players have time on their side. A mass promotion to the senior team, he said, could spell disaster for Nigeria. "There is no doubt the players did well at the World Youth Championship, but the move to the Super Eagles must be gradual, not automatic", he said.
Siasia said that it is not possible to move all the players to the senior team considering the fact that there are some younger players in the Super Eagles who cannot be easily replaced. To him, the players have to prove themselves beyond reasonable doubt to the coach before he can invite them to the senior team.
"There is no doubt that the players did well at the WYC, but it is not possible to move all of them to the senior team. I want you to know that the coach knows what he wants in the players that will be in the team and for him to pick any of the players, the player must justify his place.
"He has already picked three of them; those he thinks are needed for now. Maybe later he will invite more, I don't know, but the players still need to gather some experience before they can fit into the team.