Falcons: Fans Differ On Ikhana As Coach

Nigerians have expressed the hope that the new Super Falcons coach would lead the team to a greater height but said they would have preferred a female.

Some of the fans, who spoke as the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) unveiled Ikhana recently in Abuja, said his selection did not follow due process.

The team had been without a coach since the sack of Eucharia Uche in October 2011 after Nigeria failed to qualify for the Olympics.

A sports analyst, Tayo Balogun, queried whether due process was followed in the selection of Ikhana as the Head Coach of the Super Falcons

“Even though a good coach, I wonder whether he has the pedigree and the temperament to handle a female team,’’ he told newsmen in Lagos.

He said that the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) should be circumspect in the appointment of a coach for the Falcons.

“It is wrong to assume that because Ikhana was successful with male teams that it will translate to him being a good choice for the female team.

“The transition process is rather sudden; left to me I would have preferred him to start with the U-17 female squad and that will prepare him better for the senior team,’’ he said.

Balogun told newsmen  that he would have preferred the retention of the former head coach, Eucharia Uche and send her on a refresher course to deepen her knowledge of the game.

He added that Eucharia already had a World Cup experience as a coach which Ikhana does not have.

“She should have been sent on a refresher course and not discarded for another person to take her place.

“There is no way Ikhana will have the experience the former coach garnered at the last World Cup, even though he is good at the professional league, experience can’t be overruled,’’ he said.

A former assistant coach of the Super Eagles’ Joe Erico,  said he wished Ikhana well but lamented that a male coach was chosen in place of a female.

He noted that a female coach would have been more ideal since the individual would understand the female psyche better.

“Female coaching has its rudiment which a male coach might not understand. He has been doing well with the big boys of Enyimba; I do not know why he took the job.

“I am not saying Ikhana Kadiri is not experienced but the NFA should have opted for a female and motherly coach who knows these girls and understands them.

“Sincerely, I cannot say this is what we should expect from him. All I can say is that I wish him well as the new coach,’’ he said.