Lawal, Ekpo tell Oliseh - Don’t invite benchwarmers

As Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh prepares to invite players to the national team, ex-internationals, Garba Lawal and Friday Ekpo, have advised him to work with players who are active in their clubs, and not benchwarmers.

Ahead of the August camping of the Eagles for their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against Tanzania, Oliseh lowered the initial selection criteria for the national team, which passed only players in top leagues.

Lawal, who spoke to our correspondent on Thursday, commended Oliseh for amending the initial criteria, noting that getting a role in the national team was no longer as competitive as it was about a decade ago.

 He said, “The kind of players we have in the national team these days is not encouraging. But with Oliseh, I believe the team will succeed and I believe he has the ability to change the attitude of the players.

“We don’t have very good players now. It is not like 10 to 15 years ago when you have three to four good players struggling for one position. He should manage what he has and try to work with players who are in form and active for their clubs.”

On his part, Ekpo blamed Eagles’ woes on benchwarmers, who he said dragged the team backwards during crucial matches.

He said, “You cannot bring a player who has not played a single game for his club and drag him to the national team; he would be struggling with fitness and would not be able to combine well with his teammates.

“Even if the players are in top clubs, they must be in shape. Even the goalkeepers need to be in shape no matter where they play.”

Ekpo added that in the last two and half to three seasons, Nigerian players had not been playing first-team football in European top flights.

He said Oliseh had started well and urged him to scout players who are in form, both at home and abroad, and use them to build a formidable national team.