Former Super Eagles defence hardman Taribo West has backed Leon Balogun to have a successful AFCON 2019 tournament despite his limited playing time at English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion last season.
The 30 year old who joined the club on a free transfer from German side Mainz 05 last summer failed to crack the reliable central defence pairing of Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy during the course of the season.
He ended up playing just ten games in all competitions although injuries also played a role in his limited game time but he was still given a spot in the 25 man provisional list of the Super Eagles of Nigeria for the AFCON 2019.
West backed the decision of Rohr on his inclusion and offered him tips on how to stay match fit for the tournament which starts in June later this year in Egypt.
” I’ve been in this situation before and it was not easy preparing for a major tournament with limited games at club level so it’s not new to me. I will however like to give him some tips on how I overcame the issue back then”, West said.
” First of all he has to push himself extra hard after each training session when camping resume and he need to believe in himself more during games. When the team trains he should take it like real match situation all the time, that way he will regain his sharpness for the tournament”.
