Former Nigeria international Victor Ikpeba has challenged Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle to make bold selection decisions ahead of the November international window, insisting that some established players must be dropped to create room for fresh talent and greater competition.
Ikpeba believes the national team needs a stronger competitive environment, warning that players who are guaranteed places regardless of their performances could undermine the squad’s progress.
“Managers in football have to take risks. The great managers of the modern game, the Sir Alex, the Pep, they take risks,” Ikpeba said.
“When a team is not doing well, they are ready to take risks, bring in some new faces.”
The former African Footballer of the Year stressed that healthy competition for places is essential to maintaining high standards within the national team.
“When players are not used to fighting for positions, that’s a problem,” he declared.
Ikpeba referenced Nigeria’s disappointing performance against Guinea-Bissau as evidence that Chelle must be prepared to reassess the contributions of individual players rather than maintain an unchanged squad.
“Is this the manner we capitulated against Guinea-Bissau? It’s for him now to say, okay, this player, you didn’t have a good game,” he stated.
With Nigeria preparing for another international window in November, Ikpeba believes the coach has an opportunity to send a clear message about accountability and performance.
“In a few weeks’ time, we’re going to have this double-header in the month of November. Some of the players have to be dropped,” he insisted.
The former Super Eagles forward maintained that such decisions would encourage greater effort from those retained in the squad while opening opportunities for emerging players.
“When you start dropping these players, you send a message to the others that if you don’t step up, you will not play,” Ikpeba explained.
For Ikpeba, Chelle’s next major test is not simply selecting the Super Eagles’ best-known names, but showing the courage to make difficult decisions that restore competition, accountability and urgency within the team.
