Super Eagles technical adviser, Gernot Rohr has hinted that he has already set in motion his plans for a successful outing in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, as he says the commencement of pre-season matches by his players will give him a better view of their form.
Rohr disclosed further that he had been waiting all along for the players to resume with their clubs and, now that most of them have returned to action with their respective teams, the Franco-German gaffer says he too must get busy in monitoring each of them.
Consequently, Rohr said he is already shaping up his programme for the AFCON qualifiers and the tournament proper, billed for Cameroon next year.
Rohr said he will soon roll out his full programme, in preparation for their next match of the qualifiers in September, despite recent crisis rocking Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Nigeria’s next competitive match comes in September, when they play an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Seychelles, ahead of which Rohr, who signed a two-year contract extension last year, praised the mood within the Eagles’ camp.
The three-time African champions will resume their qualifying campaign for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations on September 7 when they take on Seychelles in Victoria.
Reacting to a report linking him to a move to the Algeria national team, the 64-year-old coach said he cannot consider dumping the Eagles job, with the positive prospect the team has at present.
Rohr stressed: “When you have a team playing this good, beating Iceland who are ranked 20 in the world, while we are 49, a team that had Argentina who are number six in the world close to a knockout.
“Who would think of resigning from this team? You would need to question your own work. No, it’s out of the question for me right now.
“I don’t believe there is problem in NFF all I can see is nothing, the most important thing for me to do is to focus and believe in my job.
“I have to do my nest to make sure we play in AFCON next year. I need to start watching players in their various club and know those to be invited.
“Our project is also focused on the 2018 AFCON as well as the next World Cup. These are targets; we have players aged 19, 21 and 22 who are all first XI and we can be positive and believe that they will improve in the future.”
