Taiwo Adelu

Nigeria’s ex-coach Stephen Keshi

Erstwhile Coach of Nigeria’s Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi has slammed Nigerian sporting media for not putting the current handler of the senior team, Sunday Oliseh on the spotlight as they did to him when he was with the Eagles.

Keshi was dumped for Oliseh by Amaju Pinnick-led Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, in July 2015 for what the football body described as “lacking the required commitment to achieve the Federation’s objectives as set out in the Coach’s employment contract”.

Oliseh was named  Head Coach of the Super Eagles that same July.

Speaking from his base in US on a Lagos sports radio Friday morning, the former Nigerian defender, who was fondly called “The Big Boss” during his days in the national team, said that there is no pressure on Oliseh as he was made to undergo by the press when he was the Chief Coach of the Eagles.

According to him, “Oliseh is not feeling the heat at all, and I believe the media are playing double standard with him. He’s just lucky unlike when I was with the Eagles when I used to receive criticisms from all angles on a little thing that happened with us in the team.

“Oliseh has all the support from the officials down to the media. They don’t criticise him. I knew what I went through in those days. Oliseh has never been under pressure since he took the job. I think he is not getting the desired heat”

On the sickness that has prevented Oliseh from joining the home based Eagles in their Abuja camp for the African Nations Championship (CHAN), Keshi said that naturally Oliseh should not be forced to take the team to Rwanda in January for the tournament because a sick man would not be fit to prosecute the tournament