Super Eagles head coach Stephen Keshi has said that he is not working against the progress of Nigeris's senior national team skipper Joseph Yobo who is eyeing 100 caps before retirement.
Keshi while speaking after the Mandela Challenge victory over Bafana Bafana of South Africa,
said sentiments should not be brought into Yobo's case.
"I will love to see Yobo achieving 100 caps but he has to be fit to get into the team. Given his calibre, Yobo is a player I will not want to put on the bench. I don't want to do that to him.
"It was like my own case when I got injured in 1994. I was not playing as it should and so. Chidi Nwanu took over my position. I was practically on the bench at the World Cup in USA," said the former coach of Mali.
Keshi who piloted Togo to their first-ever World Cup appearance at Germany 2006 further
remarked that fitness remains the problem of the Fenerbahce defender in getting call ups.
"If he (Yobo) is fit, he should start a game and probably play for an hour before I can think of replacing him with another player. I have a lot of younger players in the team now.
"Putting Yobo on the bench is not going to be a fair decision but once he is fit to command a starting shirt, he will be back in the team. This is not about sentiments. I have nothing against Yobo," said Keshi.
Yobo, a former player of Olympique Marseille it will be recalled made his senior international debut on March 24, 2001 against Zambia in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.
The former Standard Liege of Belgium player went ahead to feature in six AFCON finals where
he won bronze at Mali 2002; Tunisia 2004 and Egypt 2006.
He was also as Ghana 2008 and won bronze again at Angola 2010 before he capped South Africa
2013 with gold medal in February this year.
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