My defenders do not recover in good time, says Flying Eagles coach

Flying Eagles coach, Manu Garba, admits he still has a lot of work to do on the team’s defence ahead of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

Despite conceding just three goals in their three warm-up games in Germany, Garba is not entirely satisfied with the marking abilities and the recovery rate of his back four.

But he hopes to plug the loophole before the championship commences.

“We still need to work on our defence. This is where we need to work on before the World Cup kicks off,” Manu told Africanfootball.com.

“The mental speed of the players (has to be better) – they do recover in good time, but they often fail to do the marking when it matters most, to close up on the opposition.

“But I believe before the World Cup, the defence will be a lot tighter because we will surely work on those areas. This is the major weakness of this team.”

However, the coach has an embarrassment of riches in other departments of the team.

“The midfield is the main strength of this team,” he said.

“But with the inclusion of Isaac Success, Kelechi Iheanacho and Moses Simon, the attack will be very, very deadly. It will be difficult to get an attack that will be as deadly as that of Nigeria.”

The Flying Eagles have been paired with Brazil, Hungary and North Korea in the Group E of the World Cup.

They will begin their campaign against Brazil on June 1.