Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr, has defended his decision to withdraw Kelechi Iheanacho and Semi Ajayi from his final Africa Cup of Nations squad.
The gaffer in a statement to pressmen revealed that he had been monitoring the performance of the Nigerian players before they arrived camp in Asaba, and his decision was made before the team took on Zimbabwe in their goalless draw on Saturday, June 8.
Rohr, however, stated that the decision was not an easy one for him to make, and that it was necessary to build his final list of players for the continental showdown in Egypt.
Some saccharine fans believed that Rohr made the decision to drop Iheanacho based on his performance against the Warriors of Zimbabwe, but Rohr has debunked the rumor, explaining that it is impossible to rate a player based on one game, especially with the weather theatrics during the encounter.
“You cannot judge from one game in these conditions. We already have our opinion before the match because we observed them throughout the season and we saw what they did and also all week in the training sessions.
“We had seven training sessions to see the fitness, confidence of the players. It’s not this match alone that will give us a decision on the two players we have to drop.”
— Gernot Rohr
The Eagles will begin their AFCON campaign against Burundi on June 22, before they take on Guinea and Madagascar on June 26, and June 30, respectively.
Source: Vanguard
Featured image source: Goal.com