By Amaechi Agbo

United States based Nigeria international, Fanendo Adi have said that although Gernot Rohr has done well to warrant an extension of his current contract, he however advised the Nigeria Football Federation to give local coaches chance to developed, Bestchoicesports.com.ng reports.

The 29-year old Columbus striker,
stated this Wednesday during an interactive section in a popular WhatsApp platform, Nigeria Sports Mouthpiece, NSM.

Answering questions on the desirability or otherwise of Rohr’s new contract, Adi added that Nigerian coaches can as well achieve as much only if they are given the necessary support to excel by the federation.

Adi who spoke from his base in the US said “Gernot Rohr has done well and deserves the contract renewal. He knows how to do things in our way and doing it right.”

“It is about encouraging the local coaches and giving them the support and the chance,” he added

He however, stated challenges facing the local coaches when they are appointed as Super Eagles coach.

“A Nigerian coach can do the job as well as Gernot Rohr is doing, the only problem we have is that, we need to do away with the old philosophy of players paying to get to the national team, getting favour by coaches which you can’t say it is not happening.

“If not for that, i would have loved a Nigerian coach to be the head coach but Rohr has done excellently well for the national team and he is bringing in a style that will suit the players way of playing. It is a good opportunity given to him but obviously you have Salisu Yusuf, you have Yobo who are going to serve as assistant coaches and that is a great development having ex-international as national team coaches.

He encouraged the Nigerian coaches who are chosen as assistants to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from Rohr.

“Yobo, Salisu Yusuf or whoever is chosen will have opportunity to learn a lot from Gernot Rohr. If I were them, i will just slow down and learn a lot particularly the important things i need from him as coach for future use.

Fanendo Adi, 29, was called up to Nigeria’s U23 team twice in 2011. He was also an unused substitute in the senior Nigeria squad that faced Egypt in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in March 2016.

On 27 January 2020, Columbus Crew SC of USA announced the arrival of Adi as a striker to help the club achieve its dream.

Adi donated 2,000 bags of rice worth N10 million to Benue State government to be distributed to the people to cushion the effect of the lockdown brought by covid 19 pandemic