John Fashanu, a former football player for England with Nigerian ancestry, has backed Jose Peseiro, the Portuguese coach of the Super Eagles.
Fashanu made his statement after the 62-year-old recently revealed his goals for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
The country last won it in 2013 under the direction of the late Stephen Keshi, and the Portuguese tactician had often pledged to put a smile on Nigerians’ faces by bringing home the trophy.
Following the Eagles’ failure to earn a spot in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, Peseiro was appointed as the team’s manager in May of last year.
Fashanu stated he had no doubts about Peseiro’s capacity to assemble a potent team to carry the Eagles to greater heights. Fashanu had previously asked for the participation of former Eagles players in the administration of the nation’s football.
“I don’t doubt his (Peseiro) credentials, I believe he can do it,” he said.
Speaking further, he added: “Now the World Cup is finished, and we can put that behind us. Let’s see what the coach does. This is an enormous task for the coach because he’s picked up the right squad of players, who are excellent individually, but together as a team they are very poor and he’s going to know what he is going to do to correct this.
“I think it’s going to be pretty early to say whether he has made the right decision or not.”
Peseiro has led the Eagles to four losses in friendlies against Mexico, Ecuador, Algeria, and Portugal since taking over the team. However, in his first two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches, he has recorded victories over Sierra Leone and Sao Tome & Principe.
When AFCON qualifiers start in March, with the Eagles scheduled to play Guinea-Bissau in a two-leg matchup, he will nevertheless seek to improve on his performance with Nigeria.
