Lagos — Uneasy, it is said, lies the head that wears the crown. Jamaican reggae legend, Bob Marley, captured this in one of his lyrics when he said: "He who feels it, knows it"

Every position in life comes with responsibility and in most cases with benefits. When the demand of any position becomes too hot for comfort, what do you have for the occupant?

Some that choose to pity the man at the saddle say a man should not die in the process of serving, so it is better to fight and run away so as to fight another day. Some, however, say there is no need postponing the 'D-day' since death must come when it will come!

Super Eagles Coach, Shuiabu Amodu, is not one to be envied with ease, the reason is not far fetched. He is occupying one of the hottest seats in the land, a position where everybody and anybody has something to say. A country believed to have about 140 million people. Incidentally, every person has a panacea to the dwindling fortune of the national team and indeed teams.

Little wonder, action or inaction on the part of the coach triggers off wild reaction.

Before the World Cup qualifier against Tunisia in Rades that ended in a draw, Super Eagles had engaged France and Ireland in friendly matches. Nigerians that watched the encounter with rapt attention applauded the move as it exposed the strength and weakness of the team on one hand and jolted regulars of the team on the other.

The likes of Eneramo, Sam Sodje among others proved they could easily edge out any of the regulars. Thus, many voted for more friendly matches not only to put Nigerians in a better position to assess their team but also provide more opportunities for new, committed and determined players, some of who are still pained by Nigeria's absence at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Ironically, the issue of more friendly matches ahead of Abuja September 6 battle has turned to a pill too bitter for Amodu or is it Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to swallow.

Amodu had initially been quoted as demanding for friendly clash against an African opponent preferably North Africans, but the Edo-born tactician has not only jettisoned the idea but ruled out any friendly match even when some other countries are sure to make use of the August 12 window to shape up.

According to him, since the August 12 FIFA free day is quite close to the resumption of premiership, it would be better to allow Nigerian players abroad to compete for first 11 shirts in their clubs.

"I don't want friendly matches to be used as yardstick for judging the team, besides there is need for the players to compete for first team shirt in their clubs," he said.

Technical Committee of NFF appears to have also bought Amodu's reasons for dumping the friendly campaign.

Chairman of the committee, Taiwo Ogunjobi, said since the new season will commence on or about the time of the August 12 window, it would not be in the interest of the players to be hurrying back to answer national call for international friendly when their clubs need them most.

"The head coach has said he has had good time with the players in the month of June and since most of our players are aiming for first team shirts in their clubs in Europe, we do not want to undermine their ambition.

"It is always a two-way thing - You just have to take into consideration the interest of the players themselves. "If we start calling them up for an international friendly just at the time they are settling down with their clubs to begin the new season, it may hamper their chances of first-team places. This would not be in the interest of their career at that level. We have absolute confidence that the players will be in great shape before our next FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Tunisia on September 6 in Abuja," he said.

A cross section of fans also spoke to say Amodu wants to maintain a clean slate and does not want to lose any match, especially after grabbing impressive results against Ireland and France.

Giving the recurring complains over blending whenever we fail to shine at international meets, one would have thought that every FIFA window would be grabbed to remedy the situation or are we assuming that home tie against Tunisia will be a tea party?

It does, however, appear that many, especially both those on the pitch and sideline buy Amodu's stand, but not without reservations.

Former defence maestro, Yisa Sofoluwe, agrees that the situation is difficult. According to him, our players abroad are currently in a disadvantaged state. They need to make an impact in the club to remain relevant. The clubs will not settle for less because of the huge money they are investing on the players.

"I think Amodu's reason is understandable. The clubs invest on these players and would want them to justify their presence in the club. With the season just about to begin they may not be impressed to release any player and that is the reality. "However, to solve the issue of blending, which I agree is always a problem, the players must report on time when invited before the match against Tunisia. Every player must honour the deadline in camp and not players arriving at different times. If that happens, I believe they can blend," he said.

Former Rangers Coach, Lawrence Akpokona, said as professionals, the players should be able to blend within the shortest possible time. Since the coaches have cogent reason for shunning friendly on the window day, they should be given benefit of doubt.

"Blending I agree could be a problem because the players ply their trade in different countries with different clubs, but as professionals they should be able to blend with ease," he said.

Also, former Super Eagles Goalkeeper Trainer, Amusa Adisa, sympathised with the situation, describing it as unfortunate.

The FIFA free day, he said, would have provided ample opportunity for the team to assess itself before the home game against Carthage Eagles. Most of our players abroad, he added, are not really stabilised enough, explaining why start of season like this creates a lot of problem for the technical crew.

Most of them have not really found their feet and with the start of season just around the corner, it is rather difficult. A friendly before facing Carthage Eagles again would have been appropriate, but the situation does not favour it. What we probably need to do is give Amodu support, no coach wants to fail," he said.

Former internationals, Moses Kpakor and Taribo West, back the 'no friendly boat', providing a new dimension to the argument.

According to them, the fear of injuries at this crucial time is the beginning of wisdom.

Kpakor said: "I quite agree with Taribo West, who said there should be no more friendlies for the team now. "Injury to any of the key players would be dangerous to the ambition of the team. Even if there are no more friendly matches, the players would be fit when they come home for the match against Tunisia because they are currently engaged in the pre-season training with their clubs."

That does not, however, mean that Kpakor is completely against friendly matches as he added:

"All the same, if the team must play a friendly match, it should be reserved for some of the players that did not get the opportunity to feature in the friendly matches the team played recently. Such players should be featured and if any is found to be good enough to join the team, he should be included in the team."

So many reasons have been adduced in the past for poor national team outings. One of such is lack of blending. Rightly, experience has shown that no matter how star studded a team may be, once it lacks cohesion it is bound to achieve below expectation.

Whether the technical crew settles for friendly matches or not, the truth remains that the clash against Carthage Eagles on September 6 will to a large extent determine whether Nigeria gets a ticket to South Africa or not. To treat the match with levity under any guise is to replicate ugly situation of Germany 2006. If the window cannot be used, the technical crew and players must agree to converge early enough to achieve enough blending before facing Tunisia. Being held to a draw at home is not a palatable result for the Carthage Eagles, besides it does not look like a team eager to relinquish the leadership of the group in a jiffy.

The battle of Abuja from all indications will be tough, only the prepared will survive, the venue and home support not withstanding.