Former Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi has vowed to take Burkina Faso to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Finals as well the World Cup like he did with Togo if he is given the chance to coach the national team.
Keshi is the front runner for the vacant Burkina Faso top coaching job after Belgian coach Paul Put got fired at the end of a disappointing 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign in Equatorial Guinea.
The Stallions failed to win a match two years after they played in the final of the tournament in South Africa. Keshi has decided to look elsewhere despite the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Melvin Pinnick had confirming to reporters in Abuja on Monday evening that a draft of the new contract for Keshi was ready.
“My ambitions remain the same from one national team to another. I don’t want to have the job just to have the job but to bring a real plus,” Keshi told Sidwaya Sport of Burkina Faso yesterday.
“If I am chosen, by the grace of God, I first want to qualify Burkina Faso for the 2017 AFCON finals and why not for the next World Cup as I did with Togo.
“And then I want to do what it takes to go as far as possible in those competitions. Everything is possible.
“There is no success without vision, without hard work and without confidence. If all those things are in place, I insist that the Stallions can compete with the best in Africa.
“If I get the job, my objective is to transmit this desire of giving it all for their country, this winning culture, to follow the local players and instill a healthy competition between them like I did in Nigeria with youngsters like Sunday Mba and other locals who went on to be Africa champions in 2013.
“As head coach of Nigeria, I played the 2013 AFCON final against these Stallions and I was very pleased with them.
“I am in contact with other national teams but for the moment, out of respect for the executives of the Burkina association, I prefer to be quiet about that,” observed Keshi.