The 2010 African Cup of Nations championship kicks off in Angola this weekend.

Already, reactions from millions of Nigerian soccer fans as to their expectation of the nation's senior team, the Super Eagles are that of mixed feelings. Perhaps this is a fallout from the tardy preparation on the part of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) and Coach Amodu Shuaibu after the team qualified for the tournament in November last year.

Once one of the Africa's most formidable teams, the Super Eagles has over the years appear to have lost focus due to problems associated with coaching, maladministration, making it difficult for the country to lift the trophy since its 1994 victory in Tunisia.

The Super Eagles qualified from Group B of the qualification round with three wins and three draws, ahead of Tunisia and Mozambique; a lackluster performance in the eyes of fans.

In Angola, the Eagles will play in Group C based in Benguela against back-to- back champions Egypt, hardliners and ambitious Mozambique as well as Benin. These are opponents that analysts describe their play pattern as diverse and tricky.

Since qualifying for the tournament, the Eagles team has not engaged in friendly matches to hone the players' skill and establish cohesion for better team work. There was also the problem of late release and submission of the final list of 23- players to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) by Coach Shuaibu.

Until last Sunday, when the Eagles managed to secure a lone-goal win in a friendly with a South African club side, Thanda Zulu Royals, Nigerians seem to be in the dark as far as preparation and fitness of the players are concerned.

The final list which exclude home-based Eagles is widely considered not helpful to football development in the country. It clearly shows that Coach Shuaibu does not desire to experiment in building a more robust and focused team.

Nigerians were further taken aback by the recent defeatist statement credited to the coach, when he reportedly told a press conference that his only target was to reach the semi-final, rather than lifting the trophy. This pessimism is condemnable and highlights the on-going debate on whether he has the commitment necessary to lead the country to the World Cup in South Africa in June this year.

However the players should not be discouraged by Coach Shuaibu's defeatist utterances, but go ahead with confidence to perform creditably at the tournament. We urge them to think Nigeria and make the nation proud by proving critics wrong as they did in the World Cup qualification when they trashed Kenya to snatch the ticket from Tunisia.

They should also display the well-known Nigerian spirit of not giving up even when faced with intimidating challenges. This is important, given soccer's unifying factor in Nigerians' social life. When any of the nation's soccer teams is engaged in a game, Nigerians irrespective of tribe, region, religion or class unite in passionate patriotic zeal behind them.

While we are happy with the Eagles qualification for the World Cup in South Africa, we believe their performance at the Nations Cup will indeed provide them a well-needed psychological boost in their preparation for the world cup tournament. We hope the experienced hands in the team will use the Nations Cup to prove that their inclusion was not a mistake by Coach Shuaibu.

However, we emphasize the need to inject some fresh and committed talents in the team for the World Cup event. Similarly, we recommend that another look be taken at the expertise of the technical crew to ensure that only those who are competent are put in charge of taking the team to South Africa.

As we wish the Eagles a fruitful outing, we consider it necessary to call on the NFA and all concerned to ensure that the team is well provisioned throughout the three weeks' tournament. Football loving Nigerians are weary of Eagles returning home with bronze medals; this time we demand of them the golden cup.