Super Eagles assistant coach Salisu Yusuf has spoken highly of new head coach Jose Peseiro, stating that the 62-year-old Portuguese is a top professional whom the local based coaches enjoy working with despite being in the job for a few weeks.
The former Venezuela coach was appointed the new head coach of the national team following the Super Eagles failed bid to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and took charge of his first game against Mexico which ended in a 2-1 defeat in front of 56,872 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday morning.
“It has been great working with him, before he resumed I had two conversations with him over the phone concerning some players,” Yusuf told NFF TV ahead of the friendly against Ecuador in New Jersey. “He asked about the criteria of the home-based players and I told him which he really appreciated. He is a top professional and we enjoy working with him.”
Yusuf also admitted that while the friendly with El Tri of Mexico was tough, at the half that break, Peseiro listened to the local coaches suggestions on how the team should play in the second half, which to his (Yusuf) knowledge paid off.
“It was a bit tough,” he said “At the second half everyone analysed the game for him. He agreed to all our suggestions and we changed the system we played and it paid off. It is just that we had an own goal and we could have at least won the game or gotten a draw.
“You can see in the second half we were more in the game than them. We controlled the game in the second half.
“The team is still building, step by step I believe at the end of the day we will have a good team.”
Pressed about the performances of the home-based players who came in as substitutes against the El Tri, the Kano Pillars boss said that he was elated the players played very well adding that their performances, despite being introduced in the second half, will serve as a morale booster for Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) players.
“We are really happy because the home-based team had a chance to play, which is good for the first time in the main team. It will go a long way to make them more confident and self-belief in themselves.
“And also it will make the other home-based players that are not here to work hard because they know they have a chance if they are doing well in the league,” he added.