The training methods of head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has been put to question by a player who was a part of the team to the recently concluded Unity Cup in England, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Chelle handed debut to around six players during the course of the tournament with most from teams in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). The team ended up winning the tournament with a 2-1 win over Ghana, and a 5-4 penalty kicks win over Jamaica in the final after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
The team later proceeded to Moscow, where they played out a 1-1 draw against Russia in an international friendly game. Chelle also continued with his aim of taking a close look at new players in the team ahead for the resumption of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
One of the players who was a part of the team said the training methods of the coach was so rigours and complex that he thought of quitting the team by feigning Injury, before his debut at the Unity Cup.
” We have to run 12 laps from one post to another , and for some of us who just ended the league in Nigeria we couldn’t cope. I saw the report where you talked about players from the NPFL struggling and it’s true because of the hard nature of it”, he revealed.
” Chelle wants players who are physically imposing, quick and also full of energy. I guess that is why a player like Issac Saviour who we thought was the best in training didn’t get to play. You can ask the foreign based players they all loved Saviour but the coach had other ideas and it’s why he didn’t play in both engagements”.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
