NPFL players remain part of my plans- Rohr assures

Super Eagles handler, Gernot Rohr has assured Nigerians that domestic league players are still part of his programme for the senior national team.

Rohr made this clarification after he was asked a question which bothered on why almost all the domestic league players were shut out of the last Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with Seychelles and the doubleheader against Libya’s Mediterranean Knights slated for Saturday in Uyo and on Tuesday in Tunisia.

The Franco-German revealed that the break embarked on by Nigeria Professional Football League after the season was ended abruptly made it difficult for him to consider the choice of domestic league players

for the two crucial AFCON qualifiers but that they should expect invitation as soon as the league season starts when they are playing regularly for their clubs.

“They do not have regular league season to keep them in shape. They stopped the regular season about three months ago,” Rohr said.

“There are now some cup games for some clubs but it is not a good the situation for players to progress when the league season is not on. They won’t have the same rhythm as players that are active regularly

in Europe.”

Rohr hinted that he has detailed all his assistant coaches to continue to fish out hidden talents in the Nigerian league and that they have been giving him reliable information on them. He said they will continue as soon as the league season returns.

“We had some players of Enyimba in our game in Monrovia against Liberia but the moment is not right now for us to include any of them now because we have players who are fit and regular for their clubs,” Rohr added.

“But we are watching them especially for the Chan team and my local assistant coaches Imama Amapakabo, Alloy Agu, and even Salisu Yusuf who cannot work presently but they are given me useful information about

the players in the Nigerian league.

“We are watching all that we can watch but unfortunately we cannot do that now because the league is on break. This is really a handicap situation for the players in the domestic league but hopefully, we will have more of them in our future games.”