AFCON Qualifiers: Keshi Braces For Liberia Surprises

Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi is working to ensure that he is ready for any surprise Liberia will throw at him.

Keshi leads his Super Eagles team against the Lone Stars in a two-legged tie for a place at the 2013 African Cup of Nations.

Nigeria beat Liberia 2-0 early in the year, and some are all but celebrating qualification on the basis of that result, and Liberia’s dreadful, no-win record against the Super Eagles.

But Keshi is keen to stress that the game is necessary to secure passage.

“That game is in the past; it was a friendly but we’re not dwelling on it. It is a different game, and every game has its own unique outcome.

“This next game in September is totally different and we need to prepare, plan and organise our team. We can’t wait for Liberia to surprise us,” he said.

The Eagles have struggled to find goals under Keshi, and the Big Boss admits it is a concern

“We’re working on that and we don’t want to think about failure, even if failure is part of life because we learn from it,” Keshi said.

“This is a group of players that we just started with. It’s true we’re not scoring goals but we’re creating chances. We just need to convert the chances to get the goals. Once the goals start coming, trust me, they will not stop.

“We just have to be patient; we’re working on it. We know the department that we have problems; success doesn’t come overnight.”