Nigeria coach Sunday
Oliseh has revealed that he was snubbed by Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel
during his recent trip to England.
It was the reason the
player was ignored from the squad that would face Tanzania next month.
Oliseh said on Thursday
in Abuja that he had attempted to reach out to the midfielder ahead of the
Community Shield game against Arsenal but he was rebuffed by the 28-year-old’s
decision not to respond to his phone calls.
“I met with the players
when I went to England on Thursday, the day Chelsea was coming back from a tour
before they played Arsenal in the Community Shield,” said Oliseh.
“I put a call through
to John Obi Mikel. I called him four times, the phone kept ringing. I sent him
a text message, I got no response. I called Victor Moses, the phone rang three
times.
“And I spoke with
Moses, I told him to concentrate on his game and after the game he came to my
hotel room where we spoke and I made him understand that my priority is
building a new team and everybody is starting from zero and I needed to see
players playing.
Nigeria continue to
prepare for their first game under Oliseh’s reign as they take on Tanzania in a
2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on September 5 in Dar es Salam.
Mikel has not played for Nigeria since the Super Eagles
missed out of qualification for the 2015 Africa Cup Nations hosted by
Equatorial Guinea.
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