Enyimba International of Aba coach, Fatai Osho has explained reasons behind his decision to request the release of his squad’s first choice left-back, Imo Obot from the youth national team, Flying Eagles’ camp in Abuja, megasportsarena.com reports.
Osho declared that the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) winners by default, following the truncated season caused by coronavirus, will need the youngster for their campaign in the CAF Champions League, starting this weekend.
Consequently, Osho ordered that Obot should be recalled from Flying Eagles’ camp, where he had been part of the team’s preparations for next month’s West African Football Union (WAFU) B-zone qualification competition for next year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations.
Obot had been away for six weeks in Abuja and coach of the side, Isah Ladan Bosso selected the lad for his final squad this week, but Enyimba are scheduled to commence their continental campaign this weekend with an away clash in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso against Rahimo FC.
While Osho said he is in dire need of Obot, as he had been forced to play a right-footed defender in the left-back’s position for recent build-up matches, Bosso is also a huge admirer of the Akwa-Ibom State-born left-back and, with the qualifiers scheduled to commence on December 5 in Benin Republic, he is facing a dilemma on whether to release the defender or not.
Releasing Obot to Enyimba would mean seeing him miss a week of final preparations for the competition in Cotonou, while Enyimba’s second leg game against the Burkinabes is scheduled for Aba on December 6, a day after the Flying Eagles commence hostilities against Cote d’Ivoire.
However, Osho insists he needs Obot, who joined The People’s Elephant from Dakkada FC, now more than ever because Enyimba’s two registered left-backs for last season – Daniel Darkwah and Emmanuel Ampiah – are injured and unlikely to be fit for weekend’s game.
The other natural left-back in the squad, Enyimba academy product, Johnson Umah, is also down with a thigh strain, all of which made Osho hinted last week during the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu pre-season competition that he will have to recall Obot to join them to Ouagadougou.
Osho, who played right-back Stephen Manyo in the left back role against Plateau United, told to www.aclsports.com after fielding: “We have made our request and he is our property.
“We are in a very crucial stage now and you can see a lot of attack on the left were slowed down because we were playing with a right back at that position.”
