Heartland denies mass sack of players

Acting General Manager of Heartland, Oscar Keke, has refuted reports that the club will retain only 15 players from the team that prosecuted last season. He insists that no player has been axed by the Naze Millionaires.

“The players are currently on break and will resume on December 15. We expect the players to report to camp first. As you know after every season a team is supposed to take stock. We will be doing that and will decide the players we will be retaining for the new season,” Keke said in a statement yesterday.

He added: “The fact is that (Imo State) government has told us that it can only sustain 30 players next season. At the moment, we have 47 players. Of these 47, there are some who are not registered but are still being paid salaries. We will start from there.

“Our squad is over-bloated at the moment and we need to prune it down but the story that we will be retaining only 15 players from the past season is absolutely wrong. When the team resumes, the technical crew will decide who stays and who goes. For now, we are expecting the players to report to camp on the 15th.”

Keke is optimistic the team will lay a solid claim to the NPFL next season.

“It is now 22 years since Heartland won the league. Our target is to put in place a team that will contest for the trophy next season. So every player must deserve his place in the team. Most importantly, we want to have a better welfare package for the players next season. That is why we cannot have redundant players in the team,” he added.