Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle has heaped praise on his players in the Nigerian national team for Wednesday’s victory over Ghana but admitted they need to work harder in order to play better.
Sports247 reports that the Franco-Malian tactician was happy that the 2-1 victory over Ghana meant he has now won two out of his first three matches in charge of the Nigerian team, but the coach acknowledged that seeing his players fade in the second half showed that there’s still a lot of work to be done.
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Wednesday’s victory shot the Eagles into the 2025 Unity Cup final, in which they will lock horns with Jamaica on Saturday at Brentford’s GTech Community Stadium in West London, but Chelle is looking beyond the upcoming fixture, as he disclosed how he aims to build a stronger squad beyond this four-nation invitational competition.
The former Mali head coach recalled, “I wanted to put some high pressure on the pitch, but the system was very difficult for the players. My philosophy is to make some high-pressure in 90 minutes, but I think it’s impossible. So, we need to work more to improve.”
The soft-spoken gaffer, who was in charge at a club side, MC Oran of Algeria, before taking over the Super Eagles’ saddle, noted further that he would need more training sessions with the Nigerian players before they would fully understand his playing pattern and tactics.
Chelle reasoned, “The reality is that, since I’m the coach of this team, we need maybe seven or eight training sessions. We’ve played three games, with two wins and one draw, but we need to improve. The players need to know what I want.”
The taciturn tactician concluded with a down-to-earth analysis of Wednesday’s match and, while noting that the Eagles did well in the first half, he admitted they faded after the break and allowed the Ghanaians dictate the pace, to the extent that the opponents almost equalised.
“We made a great first half but, in the second half, we were tired. Yet, I am so proud of them, because they fought well. It was difficult, but we deserve this victory,” Chelle submitted.
