By Victor Enyinnaya on March 16, 2017

Facts have started to emerge from the camp of Rangers International FC of Enugu, Nigeria’s other representative in this year’s ongoing prestigious CAF Championship League. Insider sources revealed that though there is low morale among the players as a result of Enugu State government’s inability to fulfil its promise and raise the bar. The government has fallen short of meeting its financial obligations to the team.

Another disturbing aspect that has eaten deep into the fortunes of the team is the same disloyalty by some players to the new leadership of Christian Chukwu in the team.

According to some players who want their names off print, there was no basis for leadership change that took place in the squad at the time it came because there was no crisis or any form of power tussle whatsoever. It has been traced to be the genesis of the crisis the team has been engulfed in for some time now.

They described the move as an ill-advised one and the source of poor results the side has been posting both in NPFL and CAF Champs League.

It was further scooped that the players have vowed to stick to their Bring Down Syndrome stance until the wrong is rewritten. The former management they chorused worked so hard to ensure the team broke the 34-year cup draught the Flying Antelopes suffered only to be pushed out when they were about settling down to continue their exploits at the African level; and solid defence of the league also.

It was gathered that such distractions have been the bane of the side since the campaign for the CAF competition started as it reared its ugly head in their first leg game in Algeria which they managed to scale through but the Enugu return leg was patched and the bubble did not burst. 

Daily Sports learnt that nothing much has been done to heal the open wound and it has continue to cause the team some embarrassing results, the one against high flying Zamalek Sporting Club of Egypt being the most recent.

The team sources added that the problems currently ravaging Rangers are man-made and once it is amicably resolved early enough the better for the team. On what should be done to stop Zamalek from further advancing, they said that it is a simple but still complex situation.

“Zamalek threat is surmountable if Rangers put their house in order. Financially, the morale is at the lowest ebb. What the players are seeing today is not what they bargained for and it is why we are harvesting such disheartening results. If all the stakeholders put their heads together before the second leg against the giants from the Pharaoh’s kingdom come calling, the seemingly bad situation can be turned around because nothing is impossible to upturn in the round leather sport.”

It would be recalled that Rangers fell heavily 1-4 in Egypt against the dreaded former champions, Zamalek and the Nigerian champions has the second leg coming up in Enugu to reverse it with un-replied 3-0.

The angle of Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi failure to fund the team well has been attributed to be another factor affecting the team.  The players it was alleged are not happy funds are not enough for the team to campaign effectively in the CAF Champs League as the side has been starved of funds, motivation and other forms of encouragement.

If Enugu State government should sit up squarely and face its responsibilities on Rangers, there will be great departure from what is on ground now. It should take a cue from Enyimba International FC on how it went about their campaign that earned the Aba team the trophy back to back and Rivers United FC the other team in the race with Rangers. If nothing urgent and concrete is done to stem the present slide, Rangers are on the verge of being eliminated from the championship by Zamalek.   

•Photo shows Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

Source Daily Sports

Posted March 16, 2017

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