FORMER Nigeria international Victor Ikpeba has declared his opposition to the proposed sacking of Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr.
The Nigeria Football Federation is keen to relieve the German of his position following poor performances in recent games.
However, Ikpeba, who is incidentally a member of the NFF’s Technical Committee, has publicly advocated against the move, citing the timing, with the Africa Cup of Nations fast approaching.
“It is less than 48 days before our first game against Egypt at the AFCON,” Ikpeba said on cable channel SuperSport’s Monday Night Football show.
“The speculation about his sacking has been intense and I’m really surprised. I know what happened in 2002 and in 2010.”
Ikpeba, who won the 1996 Olympic football gold with the ‘Dream Team’ and featured at the 1998 World Cup, was referring to run-ups to the 2002 and 2010 World Cups when Amodu Shaibu was sacked before the tournaments despite overseeing the qualifying campaigns.
The former Monaco forward believes Rohr has met his targets despite the Super Eagles’ uninspiring performances against small teams.
“Rohr has done the needful by qualifying the Super Eagles for the World Cup playoffs,” Ikpeba added.
“Yes, we were not brilliant against Cape Verde but he has got the job done.
“Why not wait until after the AFCON and take a decision on his future. It will be a disaster if that happens now.
“If you sack Rohr and employ another coach, if the team fails at AFCON who takes the blame?”
Ikpeba is adamant sacking Rohr will likely lead to disaster, as the 2002 and 2010 World Cups showed.
After taking over from the late Amodu, Adegboye Onigbinde and Lars Lagerback failed to get the Super Eagles beyond the first round of the 2002 and 2010 World Cups respectively, failing to win even one match between them.
“What will the new manager change. What changed in 2002 and in 2010?” Ikpeba asked rhetorically.
“It was a disaster. This will happen again if Rohr is sacked now.
“My worry is that we forget history and we should not. Those who sacked the late Amodu Shuaibu twice said he was not good enough.”
Rohr was appointed in 2016 and has overseen more matches than any previous Super Eagles head coach.
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