Sierra Leone’s head coach, John Keister, issued a warning to his players ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against Nigeria, Abbeylivenetwork.com reports.
The Leone Stars of Sierra Leone have started preparations for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
John Keister’s men had their first training session ahead of the game at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium, Monrovia on Thursday.
According to the former Shrewsbury Town star, his players should approach the game with a serious attitude.
“We must tread with caution because Nigeria would be, citing their professionalism in playing in European football, but he has issued a message to his players.
“The most important thing for us is to win, pick points.
“Well, the most important thing is that the players are excited, you could see that spirit in them, they want to do something for themselves and I hope they will have that continuity.”
“We are going to go there to compete. We are not going to go there and lie down. And these are times I don’t really need to let the players understand the significance of these matches. I think the players themselves should understand that. They should relish the challenge coming up against Nigerian players who are doing well overseas.”
There is plenty of work to be done ahead of remaining games.
Difficult games but we have to fight to compete in the AFCON next year,” Kester said.
Sierra Leone occupy third position in Group A of the qualifiers with four points from three games and must beat the Super Eagles to keep alive their hopes of making it to Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
