Nigeria coach Eric Sekou Chelle refused to be drawn into the on and off-field controversies that have plagued his team, insisting that his sole focus remains on Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal against Algeria despite recent squad disruptions.
The Super Eagles have endured a turbulent week that saw forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman involved in an on-field altercation during their round of 16 game against Mozambique, while players threatened to boycott training over unpaid win bonuses.
“My job is to try to stay focused about only what happens on the pitch and not outside,” Chelle said. “If you have other questions about things outside the pitch, you have to ask my federation. My responsibility is on things that happen on the pitch.”
With a place in the semifinal of the tournament at stake, Chelle repeatedly emphasized that team unity and mental readiness would be the most important deciders.
Coach Eric Chelle is attempting to quieten the noise amid Nigeria’s AFCON title push in Morocco. Getty Images
“The group has to stay with big solidarity,” he said. “You can talk about the state of mind, that is the most important thing.
“This is the quarterfinal in a big competition, your state of mind and mindset is very important. Because you have to manage the pressure, you have to manage the opponent and do what your coach ask you. We do that every training session and that is why every time I talk about the training session. Our state of mind is good. Physically we are ready, tactically I have to make some choices and technically we are ready too.”
Nigeria and Algeria are two of the more high-scoring sides at the tournament, with the North Africans finishing just one goal behind the Super Eagles’ eight goals during the group stages. Chelle acknowledged that there would be an expectation of goals from two teams that have found the back of the net with regularity so far.
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“This is a game between two attacking teams that score lots of goals,” he said. “If we have to score many goals, we will do that and if we have to keep the score, we will do.
“To win this game, we have to score goals. We analyze the game, we try to find the weaknesses of the opponent and we try to put in the head of our team that we can pass by this door. And the coach of Algeria will do the same.
“This is a big game because this is a quarterfinal. So big game against a big team.”
Before he took the Nigeria job, Chelle coached Algerian club side MC Oran, chalking up a 46 percent win percentage in the Algerian Ligue 1 Pro. Although he was there for just three months, the Malian hopes that his knowledge of the players from his short time there would help the Super Eagles triumph.
“I hope my knowledge from time in Algeria will come into play,” Chelle said. “Their football is very technical football.
“I love their football, I love their style of play. They have great players, very professional and competent technical staff.”
Nigeria must overcome Algeria to reach the semifinals and keep alive their hopes of winning a fourth continental title.