Maturity, mutual respect key to success, Onigbinde tells Eguavoen, Amuneke

[FILES] Nigeria’s coach Augustine Eguavoen (R) attends a training session in Garoua on January 22, 2022, on the eve of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) football match between Nigeria and Tunisia. (Photo by Daniel Beloumou Olomo / AFP)

Warns media against the unhelpful comparison of both coaches 

Former Super Eagles Coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, has advised the team’s Interim Coach, Augustine Eguavoen and his new assistant, Emmanuel Amuneke, that only mutual respect and desire to make a difference can lead them to success in the task of managing the senior national team.

Onigbinde described Eguavoen and Amuneke as top coaches, who have handled national teams at different levels in the past, adding that it is pertinent for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to clearly delineate the coaches’ roles to avoid conflicts.

He said the two former international stars’ exposure will come in handy and help them raise a formidable squad that will overcome Blacks Stars of Ghana in next month’s FIFA World Cup final qualifying round.

Onigbinde also tasked the NFF to design programmes for coaches’ education in the country, just as he urged the federation to fashion out talent discovery plans that will take care of the talents scattered across the country.

Dismissing the insinuation that appointing Amuneke, who had previously handled a senior national team, to assist Eguavoen would cause friction between the two coaches, Onigbinde said: “They are well exposed in football and if they show maturity in their relationship, the job will be so easy for them.

“Working as an assistant to Eguaveon is a role given to Amuneke, which does not make him a servant. However, the NFF needs to coordinate the two coaches and ensure that their roles are clearly spelt