Stephen Keshi
Out-of-contract
Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, has confirmed his willingness to
relinquish the Nigeria job in favour of Burkina Faso coaching position.
Keshi, who has yet to agree with the
Nigeria Football Federation on a new deal, told a Burkina Faso medium,
Sidwaya.bf, that he was willing to help the national team, Stallions,
qualify for the World Cup and the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
The former Nigeria captain tops a
three-man shortlist which includes ex-Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac and
ex-Gabon and Niger coach Gernot Rohr. Whoever is eventually selected the
Burkina Faso Football Federation will replace Paul Put, who was fired
at the end of a disappointing 2015 AFCON campaign in Equatorial Guinea.
When asked why he wanted the Burkina
Faso job, he replied, “(The team) is a high potential individual team,
technical and combative. The team’s (Stallions) path to the final at the
2013 AFCON attests to (these qualities). They regularly participate in
continental football.
“Burkina Faso is deemed a serious
country in terms of project management. The country has a positive image
in African football landscape. They are also willing to sit down for a
short project, medium and long term.
“I will also help (Burkina Faso) in
qualifying for the Olympics. Then I can reveal to the entire continent
the potential of Burkinabe football.
“My ambitions remain the same from one
national team to another. I don’t want to have the job just to have the
job but to bring a real plus.
“If I am chosen, by the grace of God, I
first want to qualify Burkina Faso for the 2017 AFCON finals and why not
for the next World Cup as I did with Togo.
“And then I want to do what it takes to go as far as possible in those competitions. Everything is possible.”
He added: “There is no success without
vision, without hard work and without confidence. If all those things
are in place, I insist that the Stallions can compete with the best in
Africa.
“If I get the job, my objective is to
transmit this desire of giving it all for their country, this winning
culture, to follow the local players and instil a healthy competition
between them like I did in Nigeria with youngsters like Sunday Mba and
other local players who went on to be African champions in 2013.
“As head coach of Nigeria, I played the 2013 AFCON final against these Stallions and I was very pleased with them.”
However, Keshi made it clear Burkina Faso are not the only team he is considering.
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