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"Give me a better contract and I’ll stay"- Keshi:

Published

10 years ago

July 5, 2014

Out of contract Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has given conditions that would make him consider if he will continue as coach of the national team.
Keshi who led Nigeria to yet another round of 16 finish at the world cup after 20 years, revealed that he was ready to move on, if he was not given better conditions to work as Nigerian coach. He added that he has several offers including that of South Africa, which, according to him is most likely to happen.
He submitted that he would very much love to continue with the “Nigerian project” he has started: “But if the offer isn’t good enough for me, then I will explore other options and possibly move on to another challenge. It’s always a good thing when you experience other climates,” said the coach who was widely reported to have thrown in the towel after the Eagles were dismissed from the world cup by France.
However, in considering the Nigerian job, Keshi said that there must have to be changes in the way the Nigerian Football Federation relates to coaches under it’s employ.
“Well for starters, my previous contract was never respected. I was paying one of my assistants (Valere Houandonou) for over a year, my former assistant Sylvanus Okpala was sacked without my consent and those things just never made sense.
“I mean Nigeria is my country and I love my country, but I’m out of contract now so I have to move on. I have spent over two years as coach of Nigeria, and Nigeria flows in my veins but I just have to move on.
“If the offer comes, we will sit down and talk and if there’s something concrete, then we’ll see how it goes. I have several offers but it’s South Africa that have been very vocal about their offer, so that’s the way it is.
“ I’ve given my heart to Nigeria, I have done it for the country for years. I played as a captain of the national team for 14years so this isn’t about heart anymore. It’s now about professionalism, I am a professional football coach and that is all I do. I have kids in the university that I have to feed and I can’t do that by ‘heart’. Doing the ‘heart’ thing cannot work anymore, because that isn’t going to put food on my table,” Keshi quipped as he chatted with SL10.