With Pitso Mosimane strongly linked with the Nigerian national team as possibly their next head coach, the decorated mentor has been advised on what he would expect if he were to get the job.
Mosimane has had Nigerian football legend Augustine 'Jay-Jay' Okocha among those supporting him for the Super Eagles job as rumours of him possibly getting the role intensified last week.
Current Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro has been under pressure due to disappointing results by the team.
The 59-year-old mentor has been a free agent since coming back from the United Arab Emirates where he coached Al Wahda.
The UEFA Pro Licence holder has also been linked with Kaizer Chiefs and Egyptian giants Zamalek.
Speaking exclusively to the Siya crew, South African-based Nigerian football agent Mohammed Lawal says the former Bafana Bafana coach might experience working environment challenges in Nigeria.
The Good
"First of all, coach Pitso is a great coach. He has achieved a lot with the teams that he has coached. At all the teams that he has coached, I think he won a trophy or two. He did it with Al Ahly, Sundowns and he went to Saudi Arabia and promoted the club (Al-Ahli) and I believe that was the mandate given to him when he got the job. He is a great coach and there are no questions about that," said Lawal.
The Bad
"Coaching a club side and coaching a national team are two different things, especially if that national team is Nigeria. Yes, if you ask me, 'Does he deserve a chance?' I will say yes. Will he get maximum cooperation from Nigeria's football authorities? That will be difficult. I will be honest with you, he won't have a conducive atmosphere to work in. Pitso is an African and we know how Africans can be towards other Africans. We don't receive our own in the same way that we do to the Europeans. Nigeria is massive and is a footballing country. I know how Pitso reacts to everything, he is very bold, and he speaks his mind. It might not work out for him there unless he is going to change his way of doing things and this is just my opinion on the way I see things," the intermediary added.
The Ugly
"Many African coaches have tried to get the Super Eagles job but it didn't work out. We have been getting European coaches with big CVs but they failed to deliver. Nigerian people from an ordinary fan to administrators and everyone who is into football are difficult to please. It's very challenging to work with them. Everyone in Nigeria has an opinion on football and that's why it has been difficult for almost every coach to be successful there. There is always a section of people who want the coach to stay and a section of those who want him to go. There is no patience. Once a coach takes the job, Nigerian people expect the results to come immediately and they don't have the patience about a coach building a team and things like that," concluded Lawal.
How would Mosimane do as Nigeria coach?
