MFM FC head coach Fidelis Ilechukwu has revealed to Sports247.ng that he will do his best to ensure that the team gets a good and profitable season despite losing a bulk of their players to top teams before the start Nigeria Professional Football League season.
The Olukoya boys lost her first match of the 2018/2019 NPFL abridged league season to seven time champion Enyimba International 2 – 0 in Aba on Sunday with the coach clearly unhappy with the quality of his team having lost eight key players to other teams before the start of the season.
Long serving players Chukwuka Onuwa, Shola Brossa, Stanley Okorom, Sikiru Olatubosun are some of the headline grabbing names that departed the Soccer Temple which led to the coach threatening to quit the team at the end of the season.
Ilechukwu has revealed to sports247.ng the reason he decided to stay.”When you are working with a man of God you have to be careful with some of the decisions you make. I complained personally because I didn’t like some of the things that were going on. Last season till now, almost 18 players that can start and finish a match left the team.
I’m not happy about it as a person my job is to protect our players from leaving so that you can have good and talented players to play because as a coach I also have my name to protect. Before the start of this season eight of the starting players have left.”
Despite starting the season with a loss, Ilechukwu has promised to turn the team’s tide around but has declared that it will be difficult. “I’m not a magician I can only work with the players I have. If Cristiano Ronaldo left Madrid and they fell then who am I? Even though they call me the working one this is too difficult for me but we are working on it.”
The Lagos based side will welcome Kwara United on Wednesday at the Agege township stadium.
