‘New Eagles’ should be given enough playing time, says Lawal

A former international, Garba Lawal has advised Super Eagles Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr to give enough playing time to the new boys he has invited for the friendly matches against Cote d ‘Ivoire and Tunisia.

On Tuesday, the Nigeria Football Federation made public the list of 25 players invited by the Franco-German coach for the two friendly matches which are billed to be hel in October in Austria.

Rohr has extended invitations to at least six youngsters who would now fancy their chances of making debut appearances for the Super Eagles.

The newly invited players are Slovakia’s SKF Sered goalkeeper, Matthew Yakubu; Porto defender, Zaidu Sanusi; FC Midtjylland midfielder, Frank Onyeka, CSKA Moscow forward, Chidera Ejuke, and TSV Hartberg’s midfielder, Tijani Samson.

Speaking to Daily Trust yesterday, the former Super Eagles utility player said inviting the young lads is one thing and giving them enough playing time is another thing.

According to him, if they are given enough time to play, it will be easy to decide, if they are good enough for future call-ups.

“I am happy that the coach has invited these young players to come and be tested.

“Since these are friendly matches, they shouldn’t come and end on the bench. They should be given enough time to show what they can do.

“If they come and sit on the bench, it will be a waste of time and resources,” he said.

To buttress his point, the former Roda JC of Holland star said the abilities of some of the established players in the team are well known so they shouldn’t take much of the time.

Lawal maintained that friendly matches don’t have so much at stake so they should be prosecuted by upcoming players.