Eaglets to strengthen squad
by George Akpayen 26 December 2012, 18:14
Head coach of Nigeria's Golden Eaglets, Manu Garba is not ruling out bolstering his squad ahead of the 2013 CAN Under17.
Garba told supersport.com that by the time the team's camp opens for preparations ahead of the African Under17 championship, there will be a few new players he would try out.
"I'm still going to look at a few new players when the camp opens in January. The possibility of beefing up the team is always there but those who will join the camp must be able to prove that they can dislodge the present players of their places in the team.
"Yes we won all of our games in the qualifying series but it doesn't mean the team has arrived. We want to create that balance so that at the championship proper, our reserve players will be as strong as the first team players," said Garba.
The Golden Eaglets' coach also assured that his team will be ready for the African tournament, which also serves as qualifying for the Fifa Under17 World Cup.
Garba's team reached the African championship with a 100 percent record after beating Niger Republic, Guinea and Mali in the qualifiers.
Nigeria are drawn in Group B alongside Congo, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Morocco will play hosts to the African Under17 championship between April 13 and 27 next year.
