Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has sensationally declared that all he needs to build the team of his dream that Nigerians will be proud of is a “strong mentality” among the players not the talent of individuals.
Keshi said this against the backdrop of an avalanche of criticisms that greeted his decision to snub the likes of Osaze Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins for the likes of home-based players most of whom had not appeared in any major international tournament at the senior level.
He said, “When we were in Portugal, there were lots of problems in Nigeria because I decided to drop some of my good players. Most Nigerians did not understand but I know why I dropped them. You don’t need all the good players to do the job for you in a tournament; sometimes what you need is strong mentality in the team.
“You need team players and those who will work for the team. There are lots of talents in this team but they need time to play together to understand themselves.”
Keshi was also quick to dispel the notion that the present crop of players are finished products and could be compared to the 1994 squad that won the Nations Cup in Tunisia and qualified for the World Cup.
“The 1994 squad took five years to build. This team is just five week-old. I don’t want people to get it wrong, we are just growing. Don’t think we are there yet. We are still adding and subtracting and if I see any player that will add quality to the team, I will bring him in,” the coach said.
