Francis Uzoho has given his verdict on the new manager after his first two weeks at the helm of the Super Eagles ship.
The Portuguese tactician was appointed after a drawn-out process which saw a number of calls, meetings and interviews take place between the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) led by Amaju Pinnick, the Federal Ministry for Youth and Sports led by Sunday Dare, and the different candidates for the role.
Despite losing his first two matches in charge, friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador, the manager’s style has shone through and Nigerians have testified to noticing a pattern which they hope becomes more defined as time goes on.
The team’s second-choice goalkeeper Uzoho has now given his own verdict on the new manager, claiming that the Super Eagles will do great things under him.
Uzoho said to journalists in their Abuja training camp ahead of the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers matches against Sierra Leona and Sao Tome and Principe: “We are enjoying freedom to express ourselves, to believe in ourselves and the coach brings a lot of confidence to the team. I think with him we are going to do great things.”
Uzoho’s comments come after NFF President Pinnick stated that he was satisfied with what he saw from the first two matches and that he has no doubts that Peseiro was the right pick for the job. Speaking after the Mexico game at the AT&T stadium in Texas, USA, Pinnick said: “I am happy with what we put up out there.
“It was the first time after the disappointment of the World Cup playoff and you can say this is a makeshift team, while Mexico had their full-strength squad out there.
“I like what I saw today and I have confidence that we have appointed the right coach that can restore the glory of the Super Eagles and make them start winning once more.”
Praising the manager and his team after the Ecuador match, Pinnick also said: “I am happy and I can tell you that we fulfilled our objectives of restoring the spirit of the Super Eagles following the failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
“We lost both games against Mexico and Ecuador narrowly but we were up for it and never finished on the back foot. The boys gave a good account of themselves in both games. Given the number of first-team players that were not available, we have to praise the boys who showed up here and gave their all.
“They have given us confidence going into the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The despondency is over and we can now march forward in a sure-footed manner.”
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
