Erico advises NFF against hasty recruitment of new coach for Eagles

Former national team goalkeepers’ trainer, Joe Erico, has advised the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) against hasty recruitment of a coach for the Super Eagles, cautioning the body to also eschew sentiments when hiring a new manager for the team.

Speaking to The Guardian yesterday, Erico, who praised the federation for picking Coach Salisu Yusuf as the Eagles’ interim coach, said the move would give the coach the opportunity to prove his worth in the international friendly games against Mali and Luxembourg next month.

According to Erico, if the NFF did not have a programme for coaches’ selection, sentiments would come to play when picking the candidate for the job.

The former Julius Berger coach said the Eagles needed to win their forthcoming warm up ties in order to attract bigger footballing nations for grade friendlies, which would prepare the team for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

“Appointing Salisu Yusuf as interim Eagles coach, I think, is another way to test the capability of our local coaches. He needs to prove himself in the two friendlies to erase the doubt on the ability of our local coaches.

“I am happy that the Eagles will be playing two friendlies because these games will help the coaches discover more players and also put the team in the right shape for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers,” he said.