Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa believes the three-time AFCON champions will be different under new head coach Jose Peseiro.
The Portuguese will take charge of his first competitive game as Eagles handler when they host Leone Stars of Sierra Leone, in their first tie in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
It was not the best of starts for the former Real Madrid assistant coach, following the Eagles’ defeats to Mexico and Ecuador in a double header friendly games.
Musa, however, is confident that with what he has seen in training and his personal interaction with the new gaffer, Nigerian fans should expect something different.
“I would say the very first time that I met him we spoke a lot,” Musa said in Wednesday’s pre-match press conference in Abuja.
“And if you have a manager that believe in your country and that he is coming to win the Nations Cup I think he knows what he saw that made him say that.
“I will ask Nigerians to still believe in the players because I know we have the best of players that can do that. So it’s left for us the players to prove him right that with what he saw we are going to deliver.
“So for me with the kind of training I saw I believe the Super Eagles will be very different from what people saw before. I think with this manager a lot of things will change.”
Musa reflected on the Eagles’ last game inside the MKO Abiola stadium which saw them lose the 2022 World Cup ticket to Ghana.
“The last game we played in Abuja was very sad for everyone especially for me it was a very tough moment, there’s nothing we can do because that’s football, in football sometimes you win or lose.
“Now we are here for the qualifier against Sierra Leone and everyone in camp is ready to make Nigeria proud once again. We know that no one care about the Eagles because of the World Cup disappointment but we just have to keep pushing and make the fans believe that the Eagles can rise again and I believe we will make Nigeria proud.”
Musa played down fears about playing without fans positing that it is something Eagles players are used to.
He said:”Playing in an empty stadium we are use to that because during COVID we played almost one-and-half year without the fans.
“Even in an empty stadium we have to give our fans what they want and win their confidence back so definitely we have to do all our best to win tomorrow.”
