Ia didepak kurang dari empat bulan sebelum awal turnamen besar setelah Nigeria, dua kali juara Piala Nasional Afrika dan tim favorit memenangi hadiah tim top bendua itu di Mali, karena mengecewakan setelah timnya berada di urutan ketiga.
He was fired less than four months before the start of soccer's biggest tournament after Nigeria, a twice African Nations Cup winner and favourite to win the continent's top prize in Mali, finished a disappointing third.