Head Coach Finidi George might be running out of time at Enyimba FC, following the ‘weird’ behavior of the fans on Saturday.
After another disappointing result against in form Plateau United at home, the fans seem to have had enough of former Super Eagles winger and want another coach in charge of the squad.
In a video that went viral on social media, Enyimba fans mobbed Plateau United’s coach Fidelis Ilechukwu and pleaded with him to join them.
The behavior of the Aba faithfuls is disrespectful to their Coach, but it was not the first time they are throwing their coach under the bus, when results aren’t coming.
Usman Abdallah, who guided them to their last league title and Finidi’s predecessor Fatai Osho also, got their share of poor treatment from the fans before they were eventually shown the exit door.
While the behavior of the fans was inappropriate, but the truth is that, it has been coming, after a recent poor run of form under the former Super Eagles winger .
The game against Plateau United is like one of the many leads Finidi’s Enyimba managed to surrender over the last few weeks, a promising start has given way to caution, wastefulness, paralysis, and misery.
Although, there were statement wins at the start of the season, and a brief spell at the top three of the table, but the defining moment of Finidi’s time at Enyimba will be those poor last few weeks: a nauseating dirty pint of sour faces and poor football, of a team that had ceased to believe in itself and a coach who is not experienced enough to inspire the players.
Currently, Enyimba are 8th on the Nigeria Professional Football League log and 13 points to the adrift joint leaders Plateau United and Rivers United with -2 goals difference.
In addition, Enyimba are experiencing their worse run of results in three years. The eight time Champions have won just once from last seven matches (drew 3 and lost 3) — their worst run since 2019-2020 campaign when they failed to win a game out of 6.
Off the pitch, There have been needless rant in the media by Finidi as well, which almost landed him and the club into trouble with the League organizers. It was a case of former Ajax star using his players and referee mistakes as a riot shield. And to what end?
Coaching Enyimba comes with huge responsibility and high-level of emotional intelligence, and when in some situations, you don’t show that you belong to that level, then it’s difficult.
However, I strongly believe Finidi George is a good Coach and still has a future at the Club, but needs result to convince the fans and management that he’s the right man to thinker the team.
With the second stanza approaching, the next game against Wikki Tourists is crucial to Finidi’s future at Enyimba, and He can’t afford to falter anymore.
Failure to pick something from the game means, they’ll slip further behind in the table, and it might cost them a continental ticket which is not just their only realistic target, but priority for the club.