I want to open doors for African coaches – Amokachi

                          

                                               JS Hercules manager Daniel Amokachi

Former Super Eagles’ Assistant Coach, Daniel Amokachi, has revealed his plans to open doors for African coaches in Europe. Amokachi, who joined a second division Finish club, JS Hercules, in January, described his new role as “the biggest challenge” of his managerial career.

He hopes a successful stint at the Finnish outfit will see an increase in the number of African managers getting managerial roles in Europe. “It is my first experience as an African manager coaching in Europe and there are not many Africans who are head coaches in Europe,” said the former Club Brugge, Everton and Besiktas star. “They are giving me a platform as an African to showcase what I can do and if I do well, it’s an open door for other African coaches.”

Speaking on the Super Eagles failure to qualify for Gabon 2017 Nations Cup, the 43-year-old tactician blamed the players inability to switch to African settings while on national team’s duty.

“The players when they return to play in Africa on international duty forget to switch [mentally]. It’s something that we kind of struggle with – not only as Nigerians, but as Africans,” said Amokachi, who was assistant coach of the national team when they last won the tournament in 2013.

He added: “You play in Europe and everything you get is professional from A-Z and then when you come to Africa, the likes of transportation and accommodation can seem a distraction.

“The players forget to switch to being an African when they come back and that always makes them perform less than what they do at club level. I’m sure that has contributed to Nigeria not making it to back-to-back championships. Not qualifying for the tournament is not good enough for a country like Nigeria, but that’s football. It makes you sit up and say: ‘We have a lot of work that needs to be done.’”

today.ng