Ahead of Sunday's NPFL Match-day 15
meeting with Rivers United. Enyimba International Technical Adviser, Gbenga
Ogunbote talked to Enyimba Media on squad management, fixture
scheduling and the title race.
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| Gbenga Ogunbote |
Are there any injury concerns
within the squad?
Not
really, even though that is synonymous with the game. Week in, week out, we
suffer some knocks, but we don’t have any that are too serious. There are no
new concerns.
You’re playing Rivers United
tomorrow. As an entity, they have not existed in this form for long. Were you
surprised at how quickly they became a challenger in the league last season?
Oh
no, forget about that, name does not really matter in this circumstance. It is
like talking of new wine in old bottles. It is a combination of the now defunct
Dolphins and Sharks, and you know both were household names in the league. So,
one is not surprised at how they came to that position. They are old horses
too.
Rivers United got knocked out of
the Champions League after throwing away what seemed a strong lead, losing away
4-0. What are your thoughts on their result, and do you feel a club with
greater experience could have held up better with such a lead?
Much
as I would not like to discuss other teams, it all depends on individuals. It
is quite unfortunate they couldn’t hold on to the lead. It’s not just an issue
of Rivers United this time, it is an issue of Nigeria, because they are
representing this country. Experience is of course a factor, you know; for the
very reasonable period of time that Enyimba represented the nation, you hardly
can find that sort of result.
Over the last couple of games,
there has been some alternating between the two goalkeepers, Theophilus
Afelokhai and Fatau Dauda. Both are very experienced, and are at a high level.
How much of a challenge is it working with this sort of selection headache,
knowing that both men want to play?
To
be a good leader, you must be able to manage resources and crises. At any rate,
there is no crisis in the team, but when you have two top goalkeepers at that
level, look, the important thing is that when either is not 'keeping, there is
an understanding and maturity. There has never been a complaint.
You
see, when you work with senior and mature professionals, you hardly have
problems. They know what they’re doing, and we (the coaching staff) equally
know what we are doing and we make a decision that is good for the team.
After Rivers, you have to go to
Bauchi to face Wikki Tourists on Wednesday. How do you balance the need for
stability with the physical demands of travelling and playing within such a
small window? How do you prepare for that?
Even
if there is no pressure in terms of matches, when there is fatigue, you give
time for recovery. But for now, we can manage it (player fitness) still, and
are managing it. It is quite unfortunate that it is quite a distance: just
playing a game on Sunday; you only have Monday [to travel], and there is no
guarantee that you’ll get there.
If
we don’t get there, means we get in on Tuesday to play on Wednesday, then
coming back on Thursday to play another game on Sunday. So, sometimes, the
distance is not really friendly with the job.
There are reports that Rangers have
issued their manager a 3-match ultimatum. Looking at what Imama Amapakabo was
able to achieve, ending a three-decade-long wait for a league title last
season, do you feel he deserves more time?
Well,
if you look at it, it’s the same phenomenon all over the place. The truth is
that we lack patience, and if you look at the team, they have not done too
badly. They have a couple of games to make up, and they could very well come
up.
You
know, that they came first last season, there is no guarantee they will get
there this time. They took a lot of people by surprise, but now everybody sees
them as a candidate. So, more seriousness when playing against them now.
Normally,
the management will want to call the manager to order, to ensure the team does
well. But i think it is not necessary to publicize a thing like that, to say
that the coach is given three games and all. It has to be an in-house
arrangement, just making sure. He is your coach: whether you give him three
games or not, he remains your coach till you ask him to go. There are better
ways of getting things done. You must give him some kind of respect too.
MFM are flying high at the top of the table at the
moment. They are a young team, but seeing how well they are doing, should we
perhaps take them more seriously as title contenders?
Well,
in the league you play 38 games. We’ve only played 14, so there is more than
half the season to be played. I don’t think the league is over by any stretch.
They’ve not done badly, but the end is most important.
We
have a target for ourselves. We may have started slowly, but by the time we get
going... I think the league is very, very open, and the team at the top has been
changing, and will continue to. That is the nature of the league. Until the
last game is played, or at least four or five matches to the end of the season,
we will have a clearer picture. Even at that point, you still see surprises.
Looking at their form, do you
perhaps feel that criticism of your home draw against MFM two weeks ago was
unfair?
Everybody
is entitled to his opinion. Our fans came to watch the match expecting a win,
rightly so. Even if we had played the best form of football, as long as we
didn’t win, we didn’t meet their expectations, so they are bound to complain.
This is normal.
But
if you look at the game, and want to judge, you will agree the result didn’t
truly reflect the game. Through the 90 minutes, they had two chances, and one
was converted.
Be
that as it may, everyone has a reason to complain, but we won’t compare
ourselves with MFM. We are one of those teams that are expected, come rain or
sun, to win. We cannot query the reaction, we can only take the positives from
the criticism, and try to use it; knowing we have disappointed so many people,
how can we make them happy?
- Culled from Enyimba FC Media Channel
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