'I am strict, sometimes I am very hard' - Chelle warns Super Eagles stars ahead of World Cup qualifiers

Franco-Malian football tactician Eric Chelle was unveiled as the new Super Eagles head coach by the Nigeria Football Federation on Monday in Abuja.  

The unveiling ceremony organized by the Nigeria Football Federation took place in the Media Conference Room of the MKO Abiola National Stadium.

The Nigerian Federation decided to name a substantive coach for the national team despite Augustine Eguavoen leading the Super Eagles to qualify for this year's Africa Cup of Nations with two games to spare. 

With the Super Eagles in a precarious position in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Chelle's immediate priority will be to prepare the team for two crucial games in March 2025—away to Rwanda and at home against Zimbabwe.

After four matchdays in Group C, Nigeria sit fifth with three points from four games, trailing Rwanda, South Africa and Benin by four points.

Chelle has vowed to take responsibility if the Super Eagles fail to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and has highlighted that he is a strict coach, emphasizing that players must adhere to specific rules both on and off the pitch.

"The time is the enemy of the coach but I take my responsibility here. If you want to be a great coach you need to take some risks, you need to make some sacrifice," he told reporters. 

"Nigeria's team is more than a team, when I was young this is my favourite team, I bought the shirt, I look at the games, during the World Cup in France, I was in Marseille, I watch the match, It’s my team, I want to be in the history.

"The first thing I need to put in place my game project, I need to talk to the players. I am strict, sometime I am very hard. But I would be a big brother on the pitch with my players and we are going to work hard for the team."

When asked how he is going to manage the big names in the Super Eagles Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface and Samuel Chukwueze, Chelle answered: "The most important is not Eric Chelle, is not the players, Lookman, Osimhen, or the others. The first goal is Nigeria. 

"We need to win the next game, actually I'm focused on the next game after that we will see about the other games. You need to put in place strict rules around this team."

Chelle previously managed some lower division clubs in France including GS Consolat, FC Martigues and Boulogne before he was appointed as Mali coach. 

Following his dismissal as the coach of the Eagles, he joined Algerian club MC Oran, where he remained until Saturday when he left by mutual consent.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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