NPFL: Bendel Insurance are not under pressure – Monday Odigie

By Saheed Afolabi

Bendel Insurance technical adviser, Monday Odigie says the club are not under pressure to record silverware success in the Nigeria Premier Football League this season following their topflight return.

The Benin Arsenals are off to a ruthless start on their promotion from the second tier division, having gone 12 consecutive matches without defeat this season.

With six games left to go in the first stanza, the former Golden Eaglets coach insists his side are just seeking to improve with each game at a time following their 1-1 draw at Plateau United in Jos.

“We just trying to obey the rules about the game and try to improve in every game, correct our mistakes and try to fight, that’s it,” Odigie told media.

“It’s a top class game, Plateau United were on the continent last year, I saw them play against the Libyan team. So you can not come to a team like this and play without respect, you have to fight.

“We are new in the NPFL, if we are not at our best, we just might be our biggest undoing. Like you said, we played a game last weekend, we checked our flaws, try to correct and then one thing is very clear, if you do not fight, you do not get anything. So that’s exactly what we trying to do from game to game.

“The owners of the team have their target, but as a technical person, it’s just one game after the other one. What we trying to do like you said is we don’t even know the team is unbeatable. For every game we try to play, we try to give it our best, our shot and pray that God rewards our efforts.

“I’m not under any pressure, the team just came in from the lower league, so if you want to be realistic, you should know what to do. You try to stabilize your team, you fight for what’s at stake.

“I’m not a coach that talk about officiating, I don’t go that way and I will not go that way and you can’t force me. You guys saw the game and you can assess it yourself.”

Bendel Insurance  maintain their leadership at the summit of the NPFL group A with 26 points from 12 matches and will trade tackle with Kwara United in their next encounter on April 8.