NFF officials go cold on renewing Peseiro's contract as Eagles fan warm up to Hervé Renard

SUPER Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro could be on his way out soon as Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) officials have gone cold on initiating contract extension talks with him following the dismal performances of the team lately.

Portuguese coach Peseiro was formally appointed as Super Eagles manager by the NFF in May this year, signing an agreement in which he will be paid $70,000 a month. Under the terms of the one year contract, Mr Peseiro, 62, was allowed to bring two assistants with him on the condition that he pays them himself.

Initially, Mr Peseiro's contract as to be reviewed after the 2023 African Cup of Nations but the Confederation of African Football (Caf), postponed the tournament until January 2024 due to unfavourable weather conditions. To take the Eagles to the tournament, Mr Peseiro will need a contract extension but following some very poor results of late, the NFF are no longer keen on extending his contract.

Under Mr Peseiro, the Eagles have lost all four friendly fames they have played, losing to Algeria, Mexico, Ecuador and of late, Portugal, who humiliated the Eagles 4-0. Although Nigeria have won their two competitive games under Mr Peseiro, including a record 10-0 win over Sao Tome and Principe and a 2-1 victory over Sierra Leone, the quality of the opposition made them unfair contests.

Whenever the team has faced decent opposition, the Eagles have been found wanting, which is worrying both fans and NFF board members alike. To add to Mr Peseiro's woes, Nigerian fans are currently passionate about getting French coach Hervé Renard, especially after his recent exploits with Saudi Arabia that saw them beat Argentina 2-1 at the World Cup.

Mr Renard, 54, has previously been the manager of Zambia national team, with whom he won the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. He also won the competition in 2015 with the Ivory Coast, becoming the first coach to win two Africa Cup of Nations with different teams and has managed Morocco too in the past.

With six months left on his current contract, Mr Peseiro has apparently begun looking at other offers. To make matters, worse, he has not been paid at all for the six months he has been in office, setting the two sides up for a rancorous split.

On September 30, Ibrahim Gusau was elected as the new NFF president but so far, he and the head coach are yet to meet up. It is not yet clear what Mr Gusau's view on the matter is but if he wants to hire Mr Renard,, he will need to woo sponsors as he is certain to cost around $100,000 a month.