Former Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren was offered the role of the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria before he was appointed as the coach of the Jamaica national team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
McClaren was appointed as the coach of Jamaica on the 1st of August leaving his role as one of the assistants of Erik Ten Hag. His decision could have been different if the Nigeria Football Federation were proactive and decisive.
The coach met with the hierarchy of the NFF in London and talks were held on taking over as the coach of the team, but he was left with no option but to take up the Jamaican job after not hearing from Nigeria weeks after talks were held.
His representative said when he made contact with the NFF he was told that the 63 year old coach is on a shortlist of four coaches, and the NFF will need to meet as a body before deciding who will be the coach.
He said it was that information that made them to look elsewhere, and they didn’t have to look for too long before the offer from Jamaica arrived, meanwhile Nigeria is still without a coach two weeks to the start of the qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON.
Austine Eguavoen who is the head of the technical department of the NFF is expected to handle the role in interim capacity for the games against Benin Republic and Rwanda respectively.
