Solomon Ogbeide: Lobi Stars ready to face USM de Loum of Cameroon
How happy are you with your team’s victory over Enugu Rangers in the Super Cup match? I am very happy. However, victory against Rangers is not the ultimate. We have a more serious competition to contend with. So as far as I am concerned, the Super Cup contest has come and gone, we are moving on to the next challenge which is our CAF Champions League preliminary round match with USM de Loum of Cameroon. Although we are happy we defeated Rangers, we have shifted attention to this important match.
How prepared are Lobi Stars for this match you have rightly described as important?
We are ready. Part of what you saw in our match with Enugu Rangers is evidence of what we have been doing in Ijebu-Ode for quite some time now. The match gave Nigerians the opportunity to see what we have been doing. Lobi Stars are now representing Nigeria. I want Nigerians to criticise us. They saw the team so they can tell us where we are getting it right and where we need to improve. Criticise us constructively by telling us where we should improve and we shall gladly do that.
Most coaches don’t take criticisms in good faith...
(Cuts in) Like I said before, we are representing Nigeria so Nigerians should feel free to criticise us. We played few days ago for all of them to see us. I won’t be angry. Someone who criticises you wants you to get better. I am not the kind of coach who gets angry when criticised. It makes me to sit up and improve on my performances. If your son is in school, you must correct him. I am always happy when criticised. If you are not criticised, you won’t improve.
How much do you know about your opponents?
Yeah, the information we have is scanty but a good team does not need to bother itself about how its opponent is going to play. You concentrate more on your preparation. Though it is good to have an idea of what your opponent will do against you, it does not make sense to channel all your energy into studying them. Don’t get it wrong. I am not saying getting information about opponents is not important. Once you get your tactics right, more than half of your problem is solved. So like I said, we have some information about our opponents but it is not in-depth. In all, I can say we are ready to take on USM de Loum.
Would you also say your victory over Rangers in the Super Cup will douse insinuations that Lobi Stars didn’t deserve to be 2018 NPFL champions?
We don’t need to be bothered about such sentiments or comments. If you look at what happened during the league, we went to the first position from week 8 and by week 24 we were still on top of the log. And with 14 matches to go, we had eight home matches and six away. I am not a pessimist. I was very optimistic that come rain, come sunshine, we were going to win the league. It wouldn’t have been possible for us to lose our eight home matches. Our home ground was our impregnable fortress. We were so sure of winning all our home matches and then getting something away. We would have still gotten a continental ticket. Let’s look at it this way. We all started the league at the same time. If we were not the best, why didn’t the other teams dethrone us? So when people said we do not deserve to be champions, we decided not to reply them. There was no need for them to cry over spilled milk. If it were to be other teams on top, the same thing would have happened. One thing in life is that once god has destined that something will happen, nobody can change it. We were destined to be champions of the 2018 NPFL season. Whatever we have achieved, we don’t remove God from the equation. God has a hand in our success story. Let them also look at the match we played against Rangers, add one or two things together and ask themselves, if we don’t deserve to be champions of the league.
How much did Lobi Stars benefit from the Gold Cup tournament in Ado-Ekiti?
We benefitted a lot from it. The charity Cup was the icing on the cake. We played a couple of matches before the Gold Cup tournament which was another opportunity for us to fine-tune our preparation. With what we have done, I am sure we would be worthy representatives of the country. We shall do Nigeria proud.
How much support are Lobi Stars enjoying from the government of Benue State?
After God, then we have the government and football loving people of Benue State. You can see us, we are highly motivated. When we played against Rangers, we were hungry. We were hungry because the government has done so much for us so we wanted to reciprocate their kind gesture by all means. We are the people who owe the government and people of Benue State. They do not owe us anything. It is only this November salary that we have not been paid and don’t forget the month has not ended. We do not have anything to complain about.
What is your message to Nigerian football fans?
Like I said, we shall do our best. Recently, Nigerian clubs have done poorly in the CAF Champions League but we hope to change the negative trend. It is God and Nigerians who will help us. That is why I am talking to all Nigerians. The Nigeria Football Federation, the LMC and other football stakeholders should feel free to criticise us. They should tell us what they think we should do technically. Most of you are seasoned sports journalists. You watch matches and know some of these things. You can give us useful information. If you love us and you have information about our opponents, tell us. That is how you can support and also show us love. Lobi Stars are no longer for Benue State only. We are representing the whole country.