Why I will never coach Nigeria again – Sunday Oliseh speaks

Former Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, has vehemently spoken against coaching the country’s national team again, even if he was handed the opportunity a second time.

Oliseh, who had a total of 52 caps for the Eagles, scoring two goals between 1993 and 2002, managed the national team between 2015 and 2016, before quitting unceremoniously due to unresolved issues with the Nigeria Football Federation, including unpaid salaries.

In an Instagram live video chat with The PUNCH, the former Borussia Dortmund and Ajax midfielder said he would never coach the Eagles again.

“No, I don’t have the intention of ever coaching the (Super) Eagles again. I loved working with the boys, I love coaching my country, but the atmosphere around it was no longer healthy.

“I didn’t want the job anymore. Health-wise I was not feeling too good; secondly, we were owed salaries. I was spending money on my health and on my team. I just couldn’t die on the job.

“Truth is, we have a foreign coach now and from what I heard and know, he is being paid four times the wages Stephen Keshi and I were paid and these are two players (himself and Keshi) who won trophies for Nigeria.

“I’ve never heard Gernot Rohr complain about wages. Keshi, while he was coaching, was always complaining, when I was coaching for four months, I was unpaid, for six months my assistants were unpaid, so I had to leave the job; we were also being frustrated.”

Oliseh stated that he had plans to take the team to the next level before he parted ways with his employers, the NFF.

“I had good plans for the team. You will notice that at a time I brought in (Wilfred) Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, young players who are dominating now. I brought in a world-class goalkeeper (Carl Ikeme) because I felt the old breed were ready to leave.

“The same philosophy I used while with the Eagles was the same philosophy France used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“Sometimes you ask yourself questions about Nigeria. You won laurels for the country as a player, you’re doing well as a coach, you were about qualifying for the World Cup and you’re unpaid for four months.”

The 45-year-old last managed Dutch side, Fortuna Sittard, in 2018.