Remo Stars FC of Ikenne coach, Daniel Ogunmodede has admitted that his players are feeling the pressure of their quest for a first ever conquest of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) title.
The ebullient tactician stated as much after his side laboured to a 1-0 victory over visiting Plateau United of Jos, who are battling to avoid being relegated at the end of this season.
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Sports247 reports that a lost first half penalty kick taken by skipper of the side, Junior Nduka was followed by what initially appeared to be a goal in the 50th minute, but was controversially ruled out for offside against Sikiru Alimi, whose replacement, Samson Olasupo then netted the game’s decider with 20 minutes left on the clock.
Ogunmodede confessed afterwards that things have been getting tougher for his side in recent weeks and added, “Our last five games have been like this.
Against Plateau United, we faced a very good team who have a bad position on the table. They want to redeem their image; but we needed the points more, and we were resilient in getting them.”
The soft-spoken lanky gaffer then gave an insight into the tactics that eventually gave his side maximum points at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, thereby taking them 12 points clear of both Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan and Rivers United of Port Harcourt, who will clash on Monday.
Daniel Ogunmodede stated further,
“We kept fighting from the beginning of the whistle and, after we lost a penalty, we knew we had to be more relaxed. At that point, we had to be calmer, and I’m happy that we came out victorious. We are now left with 33 points to fight for. We are going to chase those 33 points with everything we have. That is what is important to us, and we are going for every point available.”
The league leaders’ gaffer also shot a look ahead of his side’s next match, which will be away to Bendel Insurance of Benin City and, though his team will be without their suspended skipper, Junior Nduka, Ogunmodede stressed that they will again go all out for victory.
He affirmed, “Bendel Insurance have improved in form recently. They’ve done so well in their last six, seven games. We will not be there with our captain, but he’s just one among 26 registered players. For sure, his influence is massive in the group but, nonetheless, no player is indispensable.”
Daniel Ogunmodede concluded by admitting that a huge challenge he has to face as the season reaches home stretch is how to ward off pressure from the thought processes of his players, as he cited a couple of examples that occurred during the slim win against Plateau United.
“One other matter we have to watch is pressure. The pressure of winning the league is so much on the players, and that’s why we saw how our first penalty kick taker, Sikiru, gave his duty to the captain. I don’t want to call it fear, but I guess he could feel the pressure of expectation.
“We are human. It’s normal. We are all human. Maybe at that point, he felt he just needed to relax his nerves and let someone else take the responsibility. But that is not acceptable to me.
It’s not acceptable in the team but, nonetheless, I feel the pressure that is on the boys. The fewer the games left, the harder they become. It’s expected,” Ogunmodede submitted theoretically.
