Many NPFL fans might be wondering why Bright Ozebagbe resigned as head coach of Ikorodu City after handling the team in five league matches after their promotion to topflight.
Well, after over two years at the helm, where he successfully guided the team to promotion to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) for the 2024-2025 season, Ozebagbe made up his mind to step down, Footballrover reports.
All thanks to a disheartening start to the league campaign.
Ozebagbe made a remarkable entrance into Nigerian football, leading the Oga Boys to the final of the Value Jet pre-season tournament.
His squad impressively defeated established teams such as Al-Merrikh SC and Rivers United.
However, their switch to the NPFL proved challenging for his side, as they’ve only managed to secure just one point from their first five matches, leaving fans and players frustrated.
The decision to resign came on the heels of a series of poor performances, including a painful 3-0 defeat to Kano Pillars, a goalless draw against Kwara United, and losses to reigning champions Enugu Rangers, struggling Nasarawa United, and Plateau United.
Despite maintaining a possession-focused style of play, the lack of results ultimately prompted Ozebagbe to take that drastic action.
Ikorodu City coach faced tough transition to NPFL
In an interview following his resignation, Ozebagbe reflected on the issues that plagued the team during his time.
He emphasised that the struggles were not due to a failure on the part of the players but rather a natural part of the transition from the Nigeria National League (NNL) to the more competitive NPFL.
He noted that with new faces in the squad, patience and time were essential for the team to adapt and start seeing the results they desired.
Ozebagbe revealed that his choice to resign was fuelled by dissatisfaction with certain decisions also affecting the team’s performance.
He expressed his belief in the importance of accountability, stating that it was difficult to pretend everything was satisfactory when underlying issues disrupted the team’s plans.
While acknowledging the challenges, he felt it was best to step aside rather than wait for the inevitable consequences of continued poor performance.
“I resigned, yes. When you are not happy with decisions that are affecting the team’s performance, yeah, and you have some shared values, you cannot just pretend to everything being well, so once the interference is not going as planned, and I don’t want to be responsible for that. I want to make decisions and take responsibility, so I needed to resign and allow things to be,” he told Naijanews.
Shockingly, after his departure, the Lagos City boys cruised to their first win of the season, and they did so in an emphatic style, crushing Bendel Insurance by 3 goals to nil.
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