In an effort to return Heartland FC of Owerri to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), the club on Wednesday unveiled Emmanuel Deutsch as its foreign Technical Adviser.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Heartland FC was relegated after the 2015/2016 football season.
The Imo Government had since then made concerted efforts, including some appointments aimed at restructuring the club for better performance.
Ugonna Ozuruigbo, the Deputy Speaker, Imo House of Assembly and the club’s Supervisor, described the new technical adviser as a man with wealth of experience.
Ozuruigbo said that the management of the club had no doubt about the capacity of the technical adviser to return the club to the top flight.
“He was recommended by a technical committee following his experience as a former footballer and a coach.
“He has no reason to fail in the assignment because Imo Government has provided all he needs to succeed,’’ the deputy speaker said. Ozuruigbo urged Deutsch to search for talented players at the grassroots like Kelechi Iheanacho of Manchester City.
The club’s supervisor regretted that in spite of the huge investment in the club by the state government, Heartland still went on relegation.
“Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo invested heavily in the club but it did not reflect in the team’s performance,’’ he said. Deutsch said that his only business in Imo was to guide the club back to the premier league.
The new technical adviser, a former Chief Coach of Botafago FC of Cameroon, promised to do his best to achieve the objective. He said that his style of administration would be devoid of sentiment and favouritism.
The technical adviser also said that he would not be influenced or pressured by any quarter in the selection of players or handling of the team.
“I have a name to protect and I will not allow anybody to mislead me,’’ he said.
Deutsch admonished the club’s supporters to be disciplined and comply with the rules of the game so as not to cause unwarranted disruptions during games.
“I will organise a seminar with an NPFL referee so that both the players and the fans will be tutored on the rules of the game,’’ he said.
The technical adviser said that he would start his assignment with 40 days intensive training with the players beginning from November 29.
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