Former Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia said that his predecessor, Stephen Keshi has a lot of work to do, to bring his key players to a competitive level, since most of the players in his squad had little playing time in their clubs during the season.
“The biggest problem (for the team) is that most of the players did not play regularly for their various clubs and this cannot be good for the team.
“What you can do when the players come together for the training camp for the World Cup would be mostly tactical and so I don’t know how (coach Stephen) Keshi will go around this problem.”
Siasia submitted that Mikel’s contribution will be crucial to the team’s success in Brazil 2014, but it all depend on his playing form..
“Mikel will be key for Nigeria, having played at the highest level for a top club like Chelsea for many years. Such an experience should count for something,” he said.
Former Nigerian striker Benedict Akwuegbu also said he expected Mikel to play a big role and described him as “the engine room of the Eagles’ midfield”.
Mikel, who missed the last World Cup finals because of a knee injury, is a holding midfielder at the at Chelsea but is given a freer, more attacking role for his country as Lazio youngster Ogenyi Onazi does all the grafting alongside him.
