TheCable

Amaju Pinnick, president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), on Wednesday said he had no regrets hiring Sunday Oliseh as head coach of the Super Eagles.

Addressing reporters in Abuja, Pinnick said Oliseh, who quit his job last month, came under high recommendation.

“When we brought the last coach (Oliseh), we brought him first because he is a Nigerian and he came highly recommended,” he said.

“In addition to this, I don’t also have any regrets saying he was a ‘Pep Guardiola’ of Africa.

“When we employed him, we gave him a four-year plan, and if you look at the contract we also talked about building capacities.

“But he resigned at the end of the day even at a difficult time, a month to crucial qualifying matches.”

Pinnick spoke in the wake of the team’s ouster from the qualifiers for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Tuesday.

On whether he would advise on a foreign coach for the team, as he had earlier been reported to have said, Pinnick said it was up to the NFF executive committee.

“We hired a coach and I was called upon to come and reverse the decision of hiring a coach,” he said.

“I was called into the highest seat in the land to reverse the decision.

“Never again will I want to do anything that will be looked at or remotely perceived not to be justifiable.

“That is why the entire executive committee will sit down and look at the pros and cons and take everything into consideration.

“The position we will take will not be by Pinnick, but by the NFF executive committee and we will communicate it to the minister of youths and sports.”

Pinnick said the NFF executive committee would hold a consultative forum with the minister on April 5 in order to have a clear direction on the technical crew of the Super Eagles.