Nigeria’s Under-17 team, Golden Eaglets, resumed training at their base in Calabar on Tuesday hours after they returned to the country from Libreville where they lost 2-1 to their Gabonese counterparts.
The contingent, who actually left Libreville on Monday for Lome aboard
ASKY Airline, breezed into Lagos in the night through neighbouring Cotonou, but finally arrived in Calabar mid-day on Tuesday aboard Arik
Airlines to begin preparations in earnest for the final qualifier against Gabon next week.
Head Coach Emmanuel Amuneke said it was important to resume training immediately in view of the enormity of the task ahead even as he
enjoined the players to give their best in the days.
“I want you to put behind all that happened in Libreville because that
is gone,” Amuneke said. “I want you to know that we are condemned to
win our match here and you must be focused on everything we are going to do from now.
“What we demand of you is hard work and nothing but hard work; because we want you to show Gabon that you don’t need to be aided by the referee to win matches.
“We believe in you and we want you to prove yourself because we are going to undergo strenuous work in the coming days as we build up towards the match,” he warned.
Meanwhile, seven players who failed to make the 18-man list to Libreville
have vowed to pull their socks in order to be part of the second leg
encounter against Gabon.
“We are happy that our teammates and other officials are back safely in Calabar, but the good thing is that we too have been working even
while they were away in Gabon,” stated defensive midfielder, Henry
Okebugwu.
“We would keep working hard and pay serious attention to the
training programs because we know the coaches would only select the
best against Gabon.”