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Super Eagles forward Obafemi Martins says he is ready to sink and swim with the squad in South Africa.

The Wolfsburg FC of
Germany striker spoke against the background of reports in the media
indicating that he was lukewarm in his attitude during training.

An angry coach?

On Friday, some
sections of the Nigerian media quoting an unnamed team official, said
the former Newcastle hit man was not showing enough seriousness during
training session, a development that is seriously infuriating Eagles
coach, Lars Lagerback.

The quoted official
noted that such was Lagerback’s anger at Martins’ antics that he
considered dropping him from the squad but was held back from doing so
owing to the shin injury, which ruled out Everton striker, Victor
Anichebe.

“Martins would have
been dropped for Anichebe because Lagerback complained about his
attitude. Other pulled their weight in training but the Wolfsburg
striker was not bothered,” the official said.

But Martins says
all this is hogwash. He stated that being quite happy to be in the
squad, he is ready to fight for a starting shirt in the line-up when
Nigeria squares up against Argentina on June 12.

Giving all

“My issues as always are about performances on the pitch and not in the newspapers,” Martins said on Friday.

“The coach was
equally shocked as myself to hear all these things being said about me.
It’s sad that when we have important preparation towards a big
tournament like the World Cup some people would go about talking
negatives about the team or players. As long as the team is doing what
we could or should do then I’m happy, and I think that’s the same for
most players.”

The former Inter
striker who has chalked up 16 goals in 31 matches for Nigeria says he
is not fazed by this development but will throw his whole being into
ensuring that Nigeria excels at the mundial.

“Like many of the
players in this present squad, this is my first World Cup and we are
all fighting to make a great impact collectively,” he explained. “No
one is guaranteed a starting place, past performance counts for nothing
and so therefore I want to make sure I give my all every time.”

He added that whoever was behind the reports clearly missed the
mark. “Whoever is speculating or accusing me of lacking the heart
certainly doesn’t know me.” he said. “This is the World Cup and no one
brings their B-game and I am ready to fight like everyone else to make
the country proud.”