Finidi George has lashed out at the critics, stating he and his technical crew should be allowed to make decisions freely in their role, following the Super Eagles’ 1-1 draw against South Africa.
George officially took over as the manager of Nigeria’s senior male national team in April and Friday’s draw in Uyo was his first competitive game on the touchline.
The ex-international is currently tasked with making sure Nigeria qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup – which now seems a more difficult battle following the share of the spoils at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.
Themba Zwane had opened the scoring for Bafana Bafana on 29 minutes in their Group C World Cup qualifying encounter but debutant Fisayo Dele-Bashiru levelled matters shortly after the break to ensure Nigeria avoided defeat on home soil.
With the three-time African champions placed second from bottom after three games played, and with some decisions which raised eyebrows with regards to substitions and playing personnel – George called for calm and requested he and his staff be allowed to operate in their liking.
“He [Boniface] was supposed to come in but when we heard [Semi] Ajayi complain that he had a knock, he couldn’t continue. So we had to reverse that,” the Nigeria boss said in his post-match presser.
“For me it is what you can give to me on the field, everyone wants this or that player to play but at the end of the day if the player is not performing you guys will still be shouting ‘take him off’.
“So, let us do our job.
“We know who is good to go, we have another game so definitely we’ll see how we can play these guys,” Finidi concluded.
Nigeria – who sit fifth on the table – will next face former coach Gernot Rohr and his Benin Republic side who are in third with four points amassed.
