Ogunbote spoke at the conclusion of the 2023/2024 Nigeria
Premier Football League (NPFL) on Sunday.
He said his contract with the Ibadan side expired with the club’s last match in the league competition on Sunday and he is not yet sure if he will handle the team next season.
The Oluyole Warriors beat Sporting Lagos FC 1-0 in their
match day 38 fixture at the Lekan Salami Stadium to finish fourth in the
competition.
Their final standing meant they fell short of clinching a
ticket to play on the continent next season, having earlier crashed out of the
2024 President Federation Cup competition.
The coach however said the club’s management had been making
efforts to discuss with him on a new contract, but there had been no concrete
offer made and no agreement reached.
“There is something on ground, in terms of discussions about
the future between them and me, but nothing concrete yet.
“Presently, my contract has expired. But the club management
is currently talking about an extension of the contract.
“They are already bringing an offer. We have all only been
waiting for the final game of the league.
“Maybe something will come up in the next few days or weeks.
But, for now, I cannot tell anybody what future awaits me at 3SC,” he said.
Reflecting on the club’s performance in the season, Ogunbote
said they gave all their best.
He, however, regretted that the team could not finish in the
top three bracket on the league table.
“It has been a step forward for the team though, even though
it was unfortunate that we could not meet up with the target we set for
ourselves.
“The important thing is that we just need to review the
season and take positive lessons out of it.”
Ogunbote recalled that the club did not start the league
well and also got it wrong on some occasions.
This, he said, really took a great toll on the team, adding
that they only picked up during the second round. “But unfortunately there were
still some away misses.
“We were placed around the 12th position towards the end of
the first round of the season.
“We also lost some games on the road, which ordinarily if we
had got a point each from them would have made a difference,” the coach said.
He however lauded title winners Rangers International FC of
Enugu, saying “I give it to them. They are not a bad side, because they
actually worked for the title.
“They are a good team with a solid coach and they know what
it takes to win the league,” Ogunbote said.
Also speaking, Sporting Lagos FC Head Coach, Abdullahi
Biffo, said the experience gathered in the NPFL would help his club’s
management, players and coaches in the 2024/2025 Nigeria National League (NNL).
”This will help us to reorganise each department to be able
to withstand the pressure of the top-flight league when we return from
relegation.
“We knew we needed to win this match, to give us a chance to
escape relegation.
“But it was a good experience, even though I came into the
team just for the last eight games.
”I was assigned by the management to fix the problem on
ground, but unfortunately I was unable to do so.
“We all know that the league’s last quarter is always
important because that is when the teams targeting continental tickets double
their efforts and teams that want to escape relegation will triple their
efforts.”
Speaking on what should be expected of Nigerian clubsides
next season on the continent, Biffo said something clinical needed to be done.
“We all know that Nigerian teams always find it difficult to
do well at the continental stage, because the best players from Nigeria do not
really stay in the local league.
“By the time new young players are supposed to come to the
national league, they are already elsewhere in Europe.
“We are only recycling players within clubs in the league.
“The league authorities need to do something about this to
develop our league,” he said.
He gave league winners Rangers International FC kudos for
their performance, saying it was because they started well in the middle of the
season and fought bravely to be champions.
NAN
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