Sports
Heartland Rejects Demand For Coach’s Sack
The management of Heart
land FC of Owerri has rejected calls by fans of the club to sack its Chief Coach, Ranson Madu.
The fans in separate interviews told newsmen at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri that the coach should be sacked for “poor performance’’.
The fans expressed bitterness over the poor performance of the club in the ongoing 2013/2014 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), saying it was beyond expectation.
Heartland’s Media Officer, Cajethan Nkwopara, however, told newsmen that the problem with the club was not technical crew.
He said the club’s management went to the open market lately and were left with leftover players to buy.
According to him, the club is undergoing rebuilding process where most of the players need to adapt with the philosophy of the club.
He described the decision of the club’s fans for management to sack the coaches as misplaced priority and urged them to be patient with the club for a possible improvement.
Heartland in the ongoing season has won only one match out of seven and drew six to place the club in the 18th position of the 20-club league format.
The only match it won was against Eyimba of Aba.
A popular supporter of the club, Mr Emenike Udeh, said the only way for Heartland to come out of the relegation zone was for the club’s management to sack the chief coach.
He then, urged the management to engage a more experienced coach, saying it was not too late for the club to stay out of the relegation zone.
Udeh said that as a prominent supporters member, he could direct other fans to start boycotting Heartland’s matches at home and away if the management failed to yield to their desire.
Another supporter, Ibe Anosike, said that favouritism had eaten deep into the club.
“The problem is favouritism which started in the regime of the present chief coach of the club.
“We know players who are very good, but the coach will rather prefer to feature people who gave bribe to be featured.
“The management must sack both the coaching crew and the technical crew for the problem to be settled,” he said.
Anosike also reacted to the payment of sign-on fees to players by Gov. Rochas Okorocha and which was later replaced with insurance package after the abolition of sign-on fees.
Okorocha paid sign-on fees arrears of Heartland players before its abolishment and introduced an insurance package for them to boost their morale.
The fan, however, said that the governor’s moves were to boost players’ morale but that the coach has failed.
“The problem of the club is not from the players but the coaches who have failed to use the players properly,’’ Anosike said.
Another, Ikenna Tobem, expressed the fear of Heartland going on relegation this season following their current position on the league table.
“Government has done enough in the area of welfare which is enough for both the players and the management to impress the government,’’ he said.
According to him, it was sad that Heartland which won the Federation Cup back to back in 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 seasons was now in the 2013/2014 Premiership relegation water.
“We are very unhappy that the champion has fallen and this has placed the club in a very bad shape,’’ he said.
Heartland FC players ready for acton during Glo league match recently
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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