AFCON 2015: Keshi’s hammer awaits Emenike

Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi will be awaiting the ar­rival of his players, as the team’s camp opens today, but he would be particularly awaiting Fenerbache striker, Em­manuel Emenike who it is believed is not happy with comments credited to the manager about his lack of seriousness.
Emenike was irked at Keshi’s purported attack in the media, criticising him and noting that the action painted him in bad light be­fore his fans.

Speaking with the BBC, the Turkish based star said the action of his coach, who is like a father to him is unfortunate, as the coach broke one of his own rules by criticising him in the lo­cal media.
Last week, Keshi was quoted as saying he is un­happy with the Fenerbahce striker, whom he dropped to the bench in last month’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations shock defeat to Congo in Calabar.
The coach criticised Emenike for only arriving on the eve of the game and not showing him and his teammates enough respect.
Though, Emenike was tempted to believe that the manager’s comments was a mistake, he noted that there were better ways of the coach reaching out to him than through the media.
“There are certain things you don’t expect from your coach,” Emenike told BBC Sport.
“If there’s any problem, as a coach you only want to find out directly from him and not in the media, it’s something he taught us.
“I feel honoured playing for Nigeria and I respect the coach like my own fa­ther. I give my all to the team because we are like one big family any time we all come together.
“But for him to say I am creating a problem in the team and my teammates are unhappy with me is sad and unacceptable.
“It’s like sending a wrong message to the fans, but if the coach feels my invitation will not bring the needed results or peace in the team, he can leave me out.”
It was not the first time both player and manager clashed in the media, as they were involved in a public spat in March 2013.
Emenike criticised Keshi for abandoning him when he suffered a long-term hamstring injury during the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
The 27-year-old had been included in the Nige­ria squad for this month’s Africa Cup of Nations dou­ble-header against Sudan and it is unclear whether Emenike will refuse to join the Super Eagles.
Stephen Keshi refused to make any comment on the latest incident involv­ing his star striker and will wait until his players turn up for international duty before deciding on any ac­tion.
Keshi, who led Nigeria to its third African title in 2013 and the last 16 in Bra­zil, must lead his side to a recovery after their poor start in qualifying series for next year’s tournament in Morocco.
Following a defeat by Congo and a draw with South Africa, the Super Eagles are third in Group A, with only the top two teams guaranteed a place at the finals.