Stephen Keshi has backed under-fire forward Brown Ideye
to come good once he sheds his anxiety.
The forward scored once at the African Nations Cup and
only once more since then; a penalty conversion against Mexico in a 2-2
friendly draw.
And at the Confederations Cup he was guilty of
squandering a host of gilt-edged chances as he failed to find the back of the
net.
But his endeavour, hard work, link-up play and ability to
rack up assists have found favour with his coach.
Yeah, it’s true that Brown hasn't scored goals, but that
does not make him a bad player,” Keshi tells KickOffNigeria.com. “Sometimes
when the ambition [to score] turns into anxiety, it becomes difficult for a
striker to score goals.
“So all he needs to do is relax. We have been working on
his inner relaxation and inner calm so that when he is in from of goal it will
be much easier for him.”
Keshi praised Ideye’s other qualities, especially his
unselfish graft for the team. Against Spain he dropped deep to rescue the two
fullbacks from sticky situations, and Keshi says that fits into his philosophy
of team ahead of individual.
“He is a good kid; he has been working his tail off
everywhere on the pitch. And that's what we want … somebody who plays for the
team.”
At club level Ideye averages more than a goal every other
game, and Keshi predicts that once the forward starts scoring for the Eagles,
it will be hard to stop him.
“It’s just the finishing that's lacking because that is
his number one job, and that is why people are a little bit angry, but I'm very
sure it's going to come – and when it comes, it won't stop.
“We just need to support him, keep believing in him and
give him the confidence to continue to express himself without pressure.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment