Keshi: NFF sacked Amokachi, not me

Returnee Chief Coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi, has declared that the decision to employ a new first assistant coach to the Eagles was taken by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and not him.
In the new appointment, the former national team first assistant coach, Daniel Amokachi, was dropped from the position and replaced by Kano Pillars chief coach, Yussuf Salisu.
Keshi said the NFF hinted him about the development, but he had no powers to stop them as they have the powers to hire and fire.
“To say that I was the one that insisted that I don’t want Amokachi again is erroneous. There are certain things that are confidential between a head coach and his employers.
“The NFF will always ask my opinion about members of my backroom staff because I am the one that will work with them ultimately. However, the final decision on who gets fired or hired rests with the NFF and not me.”
He said he was not sacked by the NFF after the expiration of his contract at the end of the Brazil 2014 World Cup, noting that the announcement last October that he had been sacked by the board of the football federation was not correct as his contract had ended months earlier before then.
“At that point, I did not have a contract with the NFF. I was merely asked to step aside for someone else (Amodu Shuaibu) to continue. And I honestly don’t believe there was any malice in that decision. If there was, the same NFF would not have offered me a new contract. The NFF only took a decision which they believed was right for Nigerian football at that time, and I respect that.
“I have an excellent working relationship with my bosses. I don’t need to prove myself to anyone. I know what I can do. I understand Nigerians are unhappy that the team did not qualify for the last Afcon and are not playing well. I take responsibility and I apologize. The truth is we must learn from the past to have a better future. Nigerians must know that this is not Stephen Keshi’s Super Eagles but their Super Eagles. The team belongs to everyone and Nigerians must come together, forgive mistakes of the past and move on.
“This is a new era and we must all work together to form a great Super Eagles again. Initially, I had a plan and I followed that plan. Everything was going on well and we ended up winning the 2013 Afcon title. We also qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup but then things began to change.
“There was a lot of interference and it affected everything we were doing. The good thing is that things are very different now and I am sure we will do well. I have always taken things one step at a time. We will prosecute the game against Chad first. After that, we can worry about Tanzania and Egypt.”
Keshi noted that the Eagles’ failure to qualify for the last edition of the Nations Cup was not because the team was deficient but simply due to the fact that Nigerian football was dogged by a lot of drama and infighting. “There were so many issues relating to what faction would lead the NFF and these things hampered our preparations. We were told of different elections and different NFF presidents and board members. The players were aware of what was going on and it affected them psychologically. These ultimately affected the results posted on the pitch.
“When everything was going on smoothly earlier, I qualified Nigeria for the World Cup and won the AFCON title in 2013 without any kind of problems. I also had to work without a formal contract.”
He noted that things are, however, very different now “and with the current spirit I have seen so far from the NFF, I am sure we will do well this time around”.