Kano Pillars are resigned to losing hotshot striker and Nigerian Professional Football League [NPFL] top scorer Junior Lokosa with the club also set to begin a massive clearout of players following their monumental capitulation to Rangers International of Enugu in the final of the Aiteo Cup played on Wednesday at the Stephen Keshi stadium, Asaba, Delta State.
Sai Masu Gida had contrived to let slip a three-goal lead in the most dramatic fashion eventually losing out on penalties to The Flying Antelopes to spurn the chance of a first-ever Federation Cup win.
Following that match, the club management in a message relayed to the players through Technical Adviser Ibrahim Musa directed that players embark on a two-week break to recharge for the coming season with one caveat – only players contacted by telephone would be a part of the team for the upcoming season.
“I’m the one that told the players to go, it’s direct from my chairman [Tukur Babangida],” Pillars’ Technical Adviser Ibrahim Musa confirmed to busybuddiesng.com.
The Pillars head coach also exclusively outlined to busybuddiesng.com the next courses of action to determine which players would be purged ahead of next season.
“So we are thinking where we have problems we invite outside players and we drop some players so that is why we say ‘if you don’t hear the call so you are not coming so we send you may be a letter, it depends on the management,” the Kano state born tactician told busybuddiesng.com.
“Today I have a meeting with my technical crew, so we discuss because when we were playing the league and this Challenge Cup [Aiteo Cup] we were jotting [scouting] the players that can come into the team.
“So when I see [my technical crew] by 4 pm today, they bring the names and we make a report, we put the player and his position that we need to assist the team, so we submit to our Chairman Technical Committee [Tukur Babangida] so it depends on the technical committee chairman and the technical committee board to go and [negotiate with the player]” Musa said.
The Pillars gaffer also outlined the positions the club were looking to strengthen ahead of the upcoming season.
“We need more central defenders, you know last time around we lost Orji Kalu, we lost Chinedu Udoji [who was killed in a motor accident during the season], so we need about four central defenders for now, one fullback because we have our own fullback and two defensive midfielders and two central attackers because we may lose Junior Lokosa,” Musa said.
“We may lose him [Lokosa] because most of the agents come to our chairman to talk about him that is why I say we may lose him but I still go back to the junior team we have many as I brought about half of them into the team, so I will go back to the junior team to recruit more like three also.”
Musa’s future itself is uncertain following the expiration of the one-year contract he signed after he was confirmed as technical adviser and head coach following an impressive outing in an acting capacity. The coach who has a twelve-year association with Pillars says his future will be resolved one way or the other after he presents his end-of-season report to the club.
“It depends when I send my report because my contract is one year [and] I have finished my one year, so it depends on them, if they can renew my contract fine if they cannot, I find my way.”
