TheCable

Stephen Keshi wants to lead Burkina Faso to the World Cup once he’s offered the job.

The out-of-contract Super Eagles coach is one of the candidates shortlisted to take over from Paul Put as the Stallions’ coach. And he’s already thinking of taking the team to Russia 2018 World Cup.

“My ambitions remain the same from one national team to another. I don’t want to have the job just to have the job but to bring a real plus,” Keshi said.

“If I am chosen, by the grace of God, I first want to qualify Burkina Faso for the 2017 AFCON finals and why not for the next World Cup as I did with Togo. And then I want to do what it takes to go as far as possible in those competitions. Everything is possible.”

One would mistake the Big Boss for a motivational speaker as he spelt out his plans for the yet-to-be-offered job.

“There is no success without vision, without hard work and without confidence. If all those things are in place, I insist that the Stallions can compete with the best in Africa,” he said.

“If I get the job, my objective is to transmit this desire of giving it all for their country, this winning culture, to follow the local players and instil a healthy competition between them like I did in Nigeria with  youngsters like Sunday Mba and others locals who went on to be Africa champions in 2013.

“As head coach of Nigeria, I played the 2013 AFCON final against these Stallions and I was very pleased with them.”

However, Keshi said other countries are after his signature.

“I am in contact with other national teams but for the moment, out of respect for the executives of the Burkina Association, I prefer to be quiet about that,” he said.