Ajibade Babalade insists under-fire Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh can silence his critics by guiding Nigeria to the Gabon 2017 Africa Cup of Nations and Russia 2018 World Cup berths.
Oliseh endured a barrage of criticism from unhappy fans after the Eagles were sent packing from Rwanda 2016 African Nations Championship at the group stages last month.
The former Nigeria captain, who claimed he was pressured to accept the job after his ex-Eagles’ teammate Stephen Keshi was sacked in 2015, fired back at his critics, saying they are “insane”.
But former Nigeria defender Babalade, who expressed his disappointment at Oliseh labeling his critics “insane”, urged the ex-Ajax midfielder to prove his managerial mettle in the Gabon 2017 and Russia 2018 qualifiers.
‘Oliseh was wrong to say his critics are insane,” the Senegal ’92 Africa Cup of Nations bronze medallist told our correspondent on the telephone on Tuesday.
“I expected him to accept the criticism being aimed his way after we lost in the first round of CHAN rather than hitting back at his critics. Whether he was begged to take the job or not, he has been given the job and he must perform.
“He should stop making excuses for our inability to progress at CHAN because he has received more support from the Nigeria Football Federation than Keshi got from the body.”
The former Shooting Stars player added, “Oliseh should focus on next month’s double-header against Egypt. The two (Gabon 2017 qualifiers) fixtures will be very tough for us, because the Pharaohs have improved a lot. Oliseh should prove his mettle with victories in the games.
“We have the World Cup qualifiers (starting in October). Oliseh will silence his critics if he wins the Gabon 2017 and Russia 2018 tickets.”
Babalade, who is popularly called Kunde, rejected suggestions Oliseh lacks the experience to manage the national team, having not managed a big club.
The former Austria-based player said, “Experience starts from somewhere. He has learnt from Rwanda 2016. I think the experience will help him. He has not done badly since his appointment.
“But he should stop talking and focus on building a team capable of giving us Gabon 2017 and Russia 2018 tickets. He should prove to us that he can take us to the Promised Land. I want him to succeed.”
He added, “We should rally him rather than critcising him. If we fail to qualify for Gabon 2017, it won’t affect Oliseh alone. Our world rankings will go down and the Eagles will lose their respect on the continent.”
possted by: Arit Ofem[source:punch]
