There are a lot of things that Coach Amodu will not understand. Given the benefit of experience, he may be in a position to, but does lightning now strike twice?

The last time Coach Amodu was in charge of the national team, he qualified us for the World Cup, only to be relieved of his post, some believe, cruelly, attributing our early ouster to that "moral injustice."

Fast forward to November 14, Kasarani stadium in Kenya. After series of disappointments, near misses and lucky escapes, the Super Eagles finally made it to the World Cup. But for NFF President Sanni Lulu, I do not see any other Nigerian who was more relieved than Coach Shuaibu on the day.

Before the final whistle, he cut a picture of a man drained. One who had put in so much effort, physically and mentally and it told in his sagging frame. After the match, some strength came into his being. His gait was re-inforced, relief became a source of strength.

Trust Nigerians. The very next day, a fan was to brandish a placard at the National Stadium Abuja, venue of the U-17 final, calling for Siasia to take over the team! "What do Nigerians want? They say I could not take the team to the World Cup I did. What else do they want?" These, will certainly be the confused thoughts of Amodu. Not to worry, the NFF, the only body licensed to run football in the country says they will sink and swim with Amodu. I admire their courage. I salute their loyalty and pray coach Amodu pays back, positively.

I pause to say that I have always held the view that Coach Amodu is the best coach in this country today. I hold this view strongly, while at the same time, I have not minded the hiring of a foreign coach for obvious reasons.

0ur peculiar problem does not allow for enough respect to be accorded an indigenous coach. Our peculiar circumstance sees players playing god and wanting to lord it over a fellow Nigerian coach, something they cannot try with their white bosses abroad.

A case in point was when they thought they could dictate to Amodu who to field and so on. Our peculiar problem breeds insults even to the point of suggesting that Nigerians could be bribed easily by players to be fielded .....

These circumstances have made me pitch tent in the camp of those who call for foreign coaches. In doing so, I will not say even England has one, Ireland has another, even Greece. No, rather I will vote for a man that will get out the best from our players, one who will recognize the fact that taking Nwankwo Kanu to the World Cup as a player will amount to depleting the rare numerical advantage needed for such a high keyed expedition.

Unfortunately for me, anytime I voted for a foreign coach, they go out and bring back a man not fit to tinker a highly rated team like Nigeria. Anytime we voted for a foreign coach, they hid behind our vote to go holidaying in Europe only to return with a trainer whose anachronistic credentials does not suit the modern game.

I have a feeling that this time around, the issue will not be treated differently. Do I then want Amodu to stay?

My answer is a "yes", laced with so many conditions. Due to some of the reasons I enumerated above,Coach Amodu spends his time fighting enemies, some of them imaginary. There are some colleagues in the media who say Amodu does not talk to them based on one article or two he was told they wrote.

Coaches all over the world are at the mercy of a vibrant press, those who are in a position to tell a coach he is not doing well, and are also in a position to praise him when he is. They are partners in progress and should be tolerated. Then come the coaching fraternity. There are a lot of them who may be after coach Amodu's job, yes but it will be a grievous mistake to progress without taking his colleagues along, brief them regularly, invite views and suggestions from them even if he does not have to use them whole sale.

All the members of the NFF may not be in his support. Some will try and frustrate him. Does he wait for an opportunity to "shame them", or does he try to court their favour with his enhanced technical input?

If coach Amodu has to take up arms at every opportunity, what time will he have to face the job at hand? I will advice the Nigerian coach to open himself up to suggestions, especially as regards the blooding of the so called "new legs". I will want to see him realizing that all of us seek for better fortunes for the team, though we have to come from different directions.

I believe, and strongly too, that if we all close our ranks and speak with one voice, with due respect to the other person, there are glory days yet for our football, starting with the Nations Cup in Angola.

God help Nigeria.

Back to the Glo Premier League

Enyimba International versus Heartland International. The fixture could not come bigger.

This was the scene last weekend in Aba as the domestic league gathered momentum. I was one of the lucky many who had thronged the Enyimba Stadium as early as 2.30pm to watch two of Nigeria's greatest football teams, Oriental brothers to boot.

You will not blame the NPL for taking extra measures in assigning some quality officials to guarantee a hitch free encounter given the tension such a fixture generates. I want to thank the Enyimba chairman, Chief Felix Anyansi for taking all the precautions necessary to make sure that the match was incident free.

I did also send a text message to the Team Manager of Heartland thanking him for cooperating to ensure that the match ended in the best of spirits. It was a delight seeing the players hugging themselves at the end of ninety minutes and the message was transmitted to a well behaved crowd. Yes the coordinator of Enyimba, the one we call "Eggovin" did wish that when they go to Owerri, "....I hope Supersport will be there and I hope they will remember the hospitality they received today"

I hope I can vouch for Emeka Iwuagwu and Emma Anyanwu to the point of assuring Enyimba that all will be well. I will be looking out for that fixture, to be able to draw the attention of all concerned to the great show of sportsmanship and camaraderie we witnessed in Aba last week end.

I end by drawing the attention of the NPL to the vexed issue of live television coverage. Let no club go about with the feeling that TV is only meant for the victimization of a few. All the clubs must get equal coverage opportunity, home and away. When it is the turn of a club to be covered live, and its home venue is not tv friendly, that club must move that week, to a venue that will allow live tv coverage.

Last weekend I was fed with the belief that the drafting of Supersport to Abuja was an afterthought.