Stop complaining if I don’t call -Super Eagles Head Coach Stephen Keshi

Super Eagles Head Coach Stephen Keshi has urged his players to show patriotism while featuring for the country.

Keshi said it was unconventional for coaches to inform players before they are dropped from the national team and that a call to serve the country was a rare privilege that should be embraced.

The Big Boss said: “It is only in Nigeria that you hear a player complaining that he was not informed before he was dropped from the national team.

“Many of us played for the national teams, nobody gives you an excuse why you are not being called.

“I was the captain of the Super Eagles in 1991 when we played Burkina Faso in Lagos. I came all the way from Belgium only to be told by our coach that my name was not among those invited.

“I had no option than to stay away from

the team. When you decide to call a player, it is only out of respect. It is not that you are obliged to do that”.

The former New Nigeria Bank of Benin captain advised players to show more commitment to national duties, instead of holding the nation to ransom at the slightest chance.

Nigerians condemned the refusal of the Super Eagles to proceed to Brazil for the Confederations Cup over match bonus differences, after their World Cup qualifier against Namibia.

It took the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan before the players decided agreed to board a plane to Brazil, where they lost two matches against Uruguay and Spain, after beating a less-fancied Tahiti.