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By Ebenezer Bajela.
Former England player of Nigerian descent, John Fashanu, has thrown his weight behind Portuguese Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, The PUNCH reports.
Fashanu’s statement came after the 62-year-old recently unveiled his plans to win the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast next year.
The Portuguese tactician had on several occasions promised to bring smiles on the faces of Nigerians by winning the long-coveted trophy after the country last won it in 2013 under the guidance of late Stephen Keshi.
Peseiro took over the Eagles job last May, after the Eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Fashanu, who had previously called for the involvement of ex-Eagles players in the running of the country’s football, said he didn’t doubt Peseiro’s ability to build a strong squad to lift the Eagles to greater heights.
“I don’t doubt his (Peseiro) credentials, I believe he can do it,” the former Wimbledon star told The PUNCH.
“Now the World Cup is finished and we can put that behind us. Let’s see what the coach does. This is an enormous task for the coach because he’s picked up the right squad of players, who are excellent individually, but together as a team they are very poor and he’s going to know what he is going to do to correct this.
“I think it’s going to be pretty early to say whether he has made the right decision or not.”
Since taking charge of the Eagles job, Peseiro has recorded four defeats in friendlies against Mexico, Ecuador, Algeria and Portugal, while he has recorded two wins over Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe in his first two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying games.
He will however hope to improve on his record with Nigeria when AFCON qualifiers resume in March, with the Eagles set to face Guinea-Bissau in two-legged fixtures.