Oliseh Laments Enyeama’s Late Withdrawal From Tanzania Tie

Super Eagles’ Head Coach
Sunday Oliseh on Wednesday lamented the late withdrawal of the team’s first choice goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, from tomorrow’s  2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.
Enyeama’s withdrawal from the game against Tanzania has presented Carl Ikeme and Ikechukwu Ezenwa as the only options for Oliseh.
The match, a Group G Match Day 2 fixture, is scheduled to take place in Dar es Salaam.
Oliseh told newsmen at the team’s weekly interactive session with the media that Enyeama’s late withdrawal had put the team in a precarious and complicated situation.
“The player himself withdrew for reasons I don’t know but what I can’t say on this is that the late withdrawal has put me in a very tight situation, I must confess.
“I made it clear from the onset that the task ahead of us is very difficult because we are practically starting afresh.
“With all due respect Enyeama is a good goalkeeper, but this development is not a pleasant one. However, we have to forge ahead because there is nothing I can do,’’ he said.
Oliseh said however that the development had shown that believing so much in a player would not augur well for the team.
He said this was why he had since resolved not to build the team around one individual.
The coach pointed out that his philosophy had been centred on teamwork.
“What happens if our best player falls sick a night before our match. Should Nigeria withdraw from the encounter?
“It is also not a sign of respect to my other players, to say because one person is not playing the team will fumble.
“We have to respect the choice of the player if he withdraws himself,’’ he said.
The Eagles coach also insisted that the situation did not mean that he was under any pressure to win in Tanzania, saying the match was not a do-or-die.
“The only time in my life that I was under pressure was 20 minutes before our match with Bulgaria at the 1994 World Cup. Ever since then, I have learnt that pressure is what you live with.
“There are three things that can happen in a game. We can win, draw or lose. But, we are building now and everybody can see that. But I am very optimistic.
“I am not looking at what happens if we lose, win or whatever. I want to see my team play to serve Nigeria and whatever the result is, we will take it like that.
“However, our objective is to qualify, and we still have games to play. Even if we win on Saturday, the journey is just starting,’’ he said.
Oliseh nonetheless expressed the optimism that Tanzania would fall in Dar es Salaam even with his little knowledge of the team.
The former Eagles captain said the video clips of the Tanzanian team’s matches, which he obtained from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), had enough to help his team achieve victory.
He, however, noted that coaching the Super Eagles would be a difficult task with the level of criticisms and analyses Nigerians provide before and after every match the team played.
The Super Eagles, comprising of 17 foreign-based and six home-based players departed Abuja yesterday for Tanzania for the encounter in a chartered flight.
Nigeria and Egypt are currently topping Group G of the qualifiers, having both secured the maximum three points from their first group matches.
Egypt are however better placed, with a superior goal margin, having defeated Tanzania 3-0 in their first encounter, while Nigeria secured a 2-0 win over Chad.