Super Eagles’ technical adviser, Eric Chelle has disclosed that the basic strategy he will employ at this year’s Championship of African Nations (CHAN 2024) is for his players to maintain high pressure on their opponents.
Sports247 reports that Eric Chelle, who is putting finishing touches to his strategies for Tuesday’s first group game against the defending champions, Senegal, added that he wants his players to keep hold of the ball.
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With a hint that possession play will be a key part of what the home-based Eagles will display during the ongoing competition, Chelle added that he picked eight players from Remo Stars of Ikenne because they fit into his expectations during matches.
The Franco-Malian tactician expatiated, “In this team, what is topical is that there are eight players of one club here. This is not a question about anything or because my assistant is the coach of Remo Stars.
“No, no! My only thinking is that I have a philosophy about how to keep the ball. We need to have the ball, and when you don’t have it, I want us to have high pressure on the opponent.”
Eric Chelle, who previously handled Mali’s national team as well as MC Oran of Algeria, admitted that he saw many good players when he monitored the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), but conceded that he cannot invite all, so only those who can fit into his pattern made the final list for CHAN 2024.
Eric Chelle disclosed further, “I need to bring in players who can fit into my philosophy. I saw that there are a lot of good players in the league, but the reality is I cannot list them all.
“This is my job. If I put a player to play, he is to go directly into my game project. This is why I need to put players who I know what they can do in a game according to my choice and my philosophy.”
He concluded by pointing out that many key players in his original squad travelled out to sign professional contracts abroad, and he had to start building another team almost from scratch.
“It’s my job to create something with these players. The reality for me is that we have the best players in the league.
“Maybe one or two still deserve to be in this team, but the reality is that many of them travelled. So, this is a new team, and we have to work a lot,” Chelle affirmed.
He will now hope to see his team romp to victory against Senegal on Tuesday, then beat Sudan on Sunday and wrap up their group matches with another win versus Congo next week.
