Rangers International of Enugu head coach Fidelis Ilechukwu has played down the talk of his side winning the Nigeria Premier Football League title at the end of the 2023/24 season, www.aclsports.com reports.
The Flying Antelopes suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Rivers United in their match day 31 fixture. Alex Oyowah and Deputy Echeta scored for the 2022 NPFL champions as they secured all three points in the encounter played at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt on Sunday.
After the game, Ilechukwu was quizzed by reporters about his side’s focus with seven games until the end of the season. In his response, the former MFM tactician said the likes of Enyimba, Lobi Stars, and Remo Stars are thinking about the title but not Rangers.
“I am not thinking about the title,” began the former Plateau United head coach.
“Enyimba, Lobi Stars, and Remo Stars are thinking about it [the title]. We have a very young team and structure is what we are thinking of. So maybe next season, we can think about the title. If I think about that, I will be under pressure and I don’t want to be under pressure because management did not tell me about that. I am not even thinking about that but what we are doing is we take the game one after the other but we are also positive.
Despite the defeat, Rangers are still top of the NPFL log with 54 points – two points ahead of Enyimba – after 31 games played. Meanwhile, in his assessment of the game itself, Ilehchukwu cited defensive errors as the reason for the poor outing.
“I think it was a great game but it was not a good one for us. A terrible day. So many errors in the defense line. Our opponent had the advantage of so many tall players which gave them a lot of advantage and they deserved their win because they created a lot of chances against us and that is football for you. We have to go back home and work more in our areas of challenges,” He concluded.
In his next assignment, Ilechukwu will lead Rangers against former side Plateau United in a match day 32 clash at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu next Sunday.
