The head coach of Enyimba, in the Nigeria Premier Football League, Finidi George, has said he is not worried about being permanently appointed to the Super Eagles.
Following the departure of Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro, who guided the Super Eagles to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February, the Nigeria Football Federation announced early this month that the head coach position was vacant.
The prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football,” according to a March 13 deadline advertisement on the football governing body’s website.
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Modo TV, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
Finidi also admitted that his team paid dearly for their mistakes in their 2-0 defeat to Mali at the Stade de Marrakech in Morocco on Tuesday.
“I think we made a few mistakes that cost us the match,” the 52-year-old tactician told Modo TV.
“It wasn’t a bad game, good intensity was exhibited, and we created a couple of chances but failed to score. In a game like this when you make mistakes and fail to score you get punished but I was happy with the entire play.
“The formation wasn’t bad at all; this is a team that keeps the ball very well. Using two strikers helped us and forced them to play wide. We could have pressed a bit more but overall, we weren’t bad. We know football is all about victory, but I am looking at other aspects.
“Not a bad performance, lost one, won one. We were not outplayed and that is a good thing. I think we did so well in the first (half) although I would have loved a different outcome in the second, but the players performed well.”
