NFF still owing me and my assistants, says Keshi

Six months after the termination of his appointment as coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi has revealed that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is still indebted to him; and for this reason, the federation would never consider him, were it to appoint a new coach.

Speaking with TheCable from his base in San Francisco, USA, Keshi signified his intention to return to coaching very soon, but said he first had to “do what I have to do”, following the death of his wife three weeks ago.

“Oh yea, by God’s grace {I will soon return to coaching],” he said. “That’s what I know how to do best. So, I think very soon, I should be back to coaching. But I have to do what I have to do first before that.”

Asked if there was any possibility of coaching the Super Eagles any time soon, he said: “I don’t know. I really don’t know. The chances are slim.

“I am not sure the NFF will even think of hiring Keshi again, because I still have some money left with them. So, also some of my assistants. I am not sure of that happening.

“You know what? I don’t even have that in my head right now. I am sure they will hire another coach other than me. NFF people will not even put me in their top 10 or 20 that they’ll want to employ. I don think it’s going to work.

“By the way, why are we talking about that? We still have Oliseh as the coach. So, I don’t think I should be their topic because it does not make sense for somebody to be suggesting Keshi to be a coach in Nigeria again. Anyway, I don’t see myself there anymore. I don’t see myself in the Super Eagles anymore.”

Keshi advised NFF and Oliseh on what to do to win the African Nations Cup Championship (CHAN) for footballers based on the continent.

“It’s about working hard, understanding the players, giving your players confidence,” he said.

“CHAN is a big tournament. Most of the players may have not played at such level. It is a very good tournament for the home-based players. All the coaching crew need to do is to give the boys confidence they need to go into the tournament.

“During my time, we had just about 10 days or so before going to CHAN in 2014. But here they have so much time in getting ready. I hope they can work out things and everything will be fine and the boys will do well at the Championship.”