Youth national team, Pauil Aigbogun has admitted he has limited time for the squad’s preparations ahead of next month’s African U-20 Cup of Nations in Niger Republic.
With the team returning to camp in Abuja on Monday, footballlive.ng can report that Aigbogun pointed out that he has limited time to ensure the players gel and blend in the best way possible.
Aigbogun also ruled out the possibility of the Flying Eagles embarking on a foreign tour before travelling to Niamey, as time constraints against them will prevent that from happening, but says they will train well and adequately at home to ensure they return with the trophy.
The former Warri Wolves and Enyimba of Aba coach rued his inability to get the array of foreign-based players he would have loved to storm the competition with, as many European clubs have refused to release them.
Aigbogun, though, promised that he and his assistant coaches will work harder to train the players and knock them into shape within the limited time available, with a view to making them ready for the championship.
The UK-born coach pointed out that he has 30 players to work with before trimming to the required number for the championship, which is scheduled to hold from February 2 to 17.
Aigbogun said: “We are optimistic of our chances and are going to Niger Republic with high hope that we can compete and can grab one of the tickets to the World Cup.
“We don’t have that much time to prepare for the competition. The preparation will be very intense to ensure we get the best players for the competition.
“We are going to play some friendly games after we have been able to train for some days to bring the players back into shape.”
