Abia Warriors coach, Imama Amapakabo has reacted to the 3-match ultimatum given to him and his team by the club management after a poor run of results, the recent one being a 1-3 home loss to struggling Jigawa Golden Stars
In a chat with Magic FM’s Jude Ochang and Tony Ademodi on their sports show, Soccer Swag, the former Super Eagles assistant coach said that the management would “have to act” because “things are not going well”. Surprisingly, Imama said the ultimatum is the “best option” for the team. He said that if Arsene Wenger was sacked and Alex Ferguson retired, one day he would leave the job
Imama also reacted to some stories in the media that he snubs the media after games. Imama said that he knows that he must speak to the press and would not run away from it
“It is not [in] my place for me to go the pressmen to say, ok come and interview me. After the game yesterday, I sat on the bench for 12 minutes, nobody came to me. I stood up and I walked; I did not disappear from the pitch though. You know the Enyimba Stadium, you know where the bench is. It seems that some people use my name to sell their sites.”
It will be recalled that journalists who were at the stadium when Abia Warriors lost to Jigawa Golden Stars alleged that coach Imama refused to speak to the press.
Though he initially declined to make comments about the pitch, Imama made his comments on the pitch as short as he could: “Whichever way we look at it, pitches are different.” He further said that the pitch is not an excuse for his team’s performance in Aba
Imama said that as a person, he is bothered with the disappointment of the CHAN and Olympic teams which he handled. When asked about an earlier quote attributed to him where he allegedly said that Nigerian players do not know how to interprete tactics. Imama laughed and said: “that particular story was taken out of context.”
Imama took full responsibility for the failure of his team to score goals and their woeful performance in recent times. There were rumours that their is a rift in the team’s backroom staff but Imama said that he is a team player and has worked well with his team of coaches and staff