Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi, has insisted that he is ready to welcome back Osaze Odemwingie and skipper Joseph Yobo into his team.
The Big Boss and the players, have become estranged after they expressed their anger at their exclusion from this squad, without proper communication.
However, after seeing some of his inexperienced players flop at the Confederations Cup, the former Togo boss is eager to have some experienced faces back.
“They should just be themselves, play their game,” Keshi told KickOff. “Yobo is still my captain. It’s unfortunate that he’s not here, but he’s still the captain of the team.
“Taiwo is still playing but I have younger players that are playing well. I have Juwon, who is not here. I have Benjamin Francis, and I have Echiejile whose performance has improved greatly. So it will be a difficult thing for Taiwo to get back in.
“For Osaze, he still has a place in the team. I’m not looking for an apology from him. Osaze is somebody that I like very well and he knows that. The thing is, it’s about the team that I’m worried about.
“I don’t want to have a player that will come in and divide the team, or want to come and do something to destabilize the team, because when the team is not together, it becomes very difficult to win.
“I’m not saying he is going to come in and do that, but a little bit of what he has shown has told me that this is possible.
“I really want to have him in the team, and I would like to give him another opportunity.”
Keshi also admitted that Obinna Nsofor has not featured in his plans so far, because the forward has always been injured whenever he called him up and revealed that Martins was still in his thoughts.
“The person I am really keen to have is Obinna Nsofor. Unfortunately, each time I call him, he’s always injured. Hopefully next time he will be fit.
“Martins is coming back gradually. The last two call-ups he wasn’t in good shape but I needed to play him.”
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