Eric Chelle urges Super Eagles to shut out distractions ahead of AFCON opener
Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle has called on his players to ignore all external distractions and remain fully focused on their Africa Cup of Nations campaign, following the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
The three-time champions begin their Group C journey against Tanzania on Tuesday, and Chelle wants the squad to quickly move on from the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup playoffs after a defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo in November.
“We prefer to stay focused at all times. I told the players to concentrate on themselves and on our development project. This is the most important thing we have,” Chelle told a press conference.
“We are our first opponent, we need to focus on ourselves and take out outside noise. Of course, the World Cup miss is painful.
“We are here to win this first game. We have a tournament to play and we are here to be ambitious. I don’t have time to think about what happened before. I prefer to stay focused on what is happening right now.”
Nigeria head into the tournament dealing with defensive concerns following a number of injuries and the retirement of experienced centre-back William Troost-Ekong ahead of the competition. Despite those setbacks, Chelle remains confident in the quality and depth of his squad.
The Super Eagles, runners-up at the 2023 edition, will also face Tunisia on December 27 before rounding off their group fixtures against Uganda three days later.
