By Daily Sports on October 7, 2016

Due to rebuilding works ongoing at their Nkpokiti Road, ESUT Gate camp, players of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) champions, Rangers International, are housed these days at Emene, about five kilometres from Enugu city centre.

Getting off the express that connects Abakaliki, you negotiate your way through muddy and bumpy roads before getting to a lemon and yellow coloured building laced with ceramic tiles in the frontage, where NPFL champions, Rangers International used as Command Centre of many sorts for this just ended season.

It houses players, technical and non-technical staff and one other object, a rusty gold-plated trophy. On closer inspection, you would notice it has been dulled in appearance by time, though it still has intact standard features like a removable cover, handles and a ceramic base.

From a distance, you would not notice it has grown spots that could pass for skin rashes on a human. That very well explains the fact it had passed its sell-by date as an symbol of celebration.

But for Coach Imama Amapakabo. The trophy meant more than its aged look conotes. It was a symbol of motivation. An object that formed a constant part of everyday life in camp. To everyone connected to team duties, that rusty trophy was what served as a constant reminder that there was a goal to pursue.

Two weeks before the season ended, when it was looking very much like Rangers could finally end 32 years of pain, Amapakabo had revealed to npfl.ng some of the unseen motivational tools he used to galvanise Rangers back to reckoning.

"At the beginning of the season, I placed a trophy right by the entrance to the main door of our camp building," he began.

"The reason it was placed by the entrance was so everyone, including we coaches could see it when entering and leaving the building. There was no escaping it.

"Many of my players asked what it was for. I told them it is to inspire them. When they wake up to go for training, they see it. When they return, they see it."

Sports of course mirriors life. In a long and tedious season, there were bound to be ups and downs. Amapakabo played into this effectively.

"I told them they must embrace the significance of having a trophy placed by their doorstep. That it must be their friend when they return from a loss. That it must not be overlooked even when we win matches, as overconfidence can kill."

Though it took a while to sink in, his, players eventually bought into it with vigour. Enterprising midfielder, Obinna Nwobodo, the choice of many fans as Rangers International's best player this season, eloquently captured the effect his manager's motivational strategy had on the team.

"When coach Imama brought the trophy to camp, he said we must pass by it everyday. Many of us laughed it off wondering why the need for a Cup when we have not even played two matches. But he kept to his decision and kept repeating what he wants us to achieve through seeing the Cup daily.

"Eventually we started to visualise ourselves as champions and it reflected in the way we trained. The way we played and even in the way we took to punishments by coach Imama when anyone broke rules. That was how we eventually actualized our dreams," he said.

Nwobodo spoke on the eve of Rangers' four-nil pummelling of El-Kanemi Warriors on the final day of the 2015/16 season. The manner of their win bore the hallmark of a team inspired beyond words.

Their swashbuckling approach told of players that had been inspired by repeated sightings of a trophy that played a dummy role in galvanising them to stardom.

Seeing the glittering silverware that is the official NPFL trophy on display before kickoff added to their desire to give closure to three decades of despair.

But it all started with inspirational words attached to placing a disused object at a vantage corner of their camp. It was a dummy that acted like the real thing. It did its job of helping to actualise the long-awaited arrival of one of the biggest prizes in Nigerian sports; provoking tears of joy down the faces of millions that love Rangers International, the Flying Antelopes. (npfl.ng)

•Photo shows Dangers dummy trophy

Source Daily Sports

Posted October 7, 2016

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