Underdog tag will help Ikorodu City vs Pillars–Coach

Head coach of Ikorodu City, Bright Ozebagbe, believes tagging the newly promoted Nigeria Premier Football League side as underdogs will make life easy for them as they begin their journey in the Nigerian topflight against Kano Pillars in Katsina on Sunday (today), PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The match will be played at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Katsina, due to the ongoing renovation works at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano.

Established in 2022, Ikorodu City have played two seasons in the Nigeria National League before gaining promotion to the NPFL in June, and life in the NPFL has come so fast with former champions Kano Pillars awaiting them.

Regardless of how uneasy their first game seems, Ozebagbe fancies the chance of his team in the 38-game league as they hope to make a good impression in their first season.

“We have prepared very well; mentally, the boys are good,” the coach told the club media team.

“Every match is difficult regardless of who we play. We will face the challenges; we are tagged as underdogs, and that will help us.”

The NPFL newcomers had a decent pre-season against top teams in Nigeria and also signed more players, including Rivio Ayemwenre, who famously scored Sporting Lagos’ first goal in the NPFL last season.

“I think continuity is key, and that is why we have most of our players while we integrate new ones. The synergy has been good from our pre-season; the outcome was positive, so I think the squad, in general, is balanced in every department.”

On the other hand, Kano Pillars haven’t changed a lot in terms of players, but there has been a shakeup in the backroom, which saw the return of the 2019 NPFL-winning coach with Enyimba, Usman Abdallah, returning to the club.

Sai Masu Gida had initially appointed former Sporting Lagos coach ahead of the season, but his contract was mutually terminated, making way for
Abdallah.