Saintfiet pulls out of race to become new Super Eagles coach, resumes with Bangladesh

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Saintfiet pulls out of race to become new Super Eagles coach, resumes with Bangladesh

Tom Saintfiet has ruled himself out of the running to become the new Super Eagles boss and has taken over as coach of Bangladesh.
The Belgian made a final three-man shortlist for the Nigeria job, alongside Salisu Yusuf and Paul Le Guen.

“I saw exactly what you saw,” Saintfiet told the Dhaka Tribune when he was asked about his situation with Nigeria.

“As a coach, I was without a job for the last two months. I sent my CV to different federations all over the world and Nigeria were one of them. On Friday, I saw I was in the shortlist but I don’t have proper information about it (regarding interview with NFA).

“The first focus is on two (AFC Asian Cup qualifying playoff) matches against Bhutan in September and October. When the matches are finished, hopefully with the qualification, we will work together in future. First focus is on three months and to try to get good results.”

Saintfiet has already begun work and compiled a 32-man preliminary squad for the upcoming games against Bhutan. After his vacation, he will watch several league matches and decide on some players.

“I only picked 12 players and the rest were added by my assistant coach [Saiful Bari] Titu. In the coming weeks, there will be league matches. Based on that, new players may be added,” he concluded.