Augustine Eguavoen has kicked against having Emmanuel Amuneke as his top assistant for the Super Eagles final 2022 World Cup playoffs against Ghana next month.
Drafting Amuneke to the Eagles would mean two of the assistant coaches who worked with Eguavoen at the AFCON in Cameroon will be axed.
The Eagles interim coach has since told sports minister Sunday Dare that he wishes the technical crew to the 2021 AFCON be left intact.
Eguavoen’s assistants in Cameroon were Salisu Yusuf, Paul Aigbogun, Joseph Yobo, Terry Eguaoje and Alloy Agu, while former internationals Garba Lawal, Nwankwo Kanu and Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha were named ambassadors.
Eguavoen made his position known during a closed door meeting the coach had with the minister in Abuja, just as Amuneke himself has maintained he has not been approached for the Eagles post.
“I am not aware of any appointment with the Super Eagles or any job with the Nigerian government,” Amuneke told SportingSun.
“I was in the team’s hotel in Cameroon countless and there was no the appointment was discussed with me.”
He further said he would rather not talk about the matter until a formal offer was made to him.
Many football fans in Nigeria called for Amunike inclusion in SE technical crews but Eguavoen has created unnecessary aversion for Amunike which doesn’t spell good omen for SE.
Amunike is above Salisu Yusuf and co in terms of tactical and technical abilities.
I know without Amunike in the technical crews Eguavoen too won’t last in his position because SE will not perform when the chips are down.
If it’s actually true that Eguavoen rejected Amunike, it shows that both can not work together again. Many football fans prefer Amunike to Eguavoen as SE handler at initial stage. Eguavoen is obviously not comfortable with Amunike prowess,he rather wants a stooge as his assistant.