In his first full day on the job, newly-appointed interim coach of the Super Eagles Austin Eguavoen has allayed the fears of football-loving Nigerians by promising that the three-time African champions would put up a good outing at the AFCON next January in Cameroon.
The Nigerian Football Federation had announced the sack of former coach Gernot Rohr on Sunday after weeks of intense speculation and named Eguavoen in an interim capacity until a substantive manager is appointed.
It is the third coming of Eguavoen after his first spell in 2005-2007 during which he led the Super Eagles to a third-place finish at the 2006 AFCON in Egypt and a brief caretaker position in 2010.
Speaking on television after his appointment, Eguavoen sought to calm frail nerves of anxious Nigerians who expressed fear at the managerial change of baton with less than four weeks to kick-off of the AFCON in Cameroon.
“There’s no cause for alarm, we shouldn’t panic. Everything is under control, hopefully the issues on ground now will be solved and then we’ll come out with a very good outing in Cameroon,” the 56-year old said.
Until his appointment, Eguavoen was the Technical Director of the NFF after his coaching spells at various Nigerian clubsides including Bendel Insurance, Gombe United, Sunshine Stars as well as Nigeria’s U-20 and U-23 teams.
He was also a member of Nigeria’s Golden Generation of players who qualified the nation for a first-ever World Cup in 1994 after lifting the AFCON in Tunisia three months earlier.
