Nigeria Content Online

Dolphins’
chances of posting a good performance in the 2010/2011 Premier League
season doesn’t appear so good at the moment after a vast majority of
the club’s players from last season’s campaign failed to turn up at the
club’s training ground for pre-season training.

Only 14 players out
of 30 retained by Dolphins trained with the club on Tuesday morning
leaving coaches of the team worried at the development.

Captain Ejindu, one
of the stars from last season’s campaign is reported to have dumped the
former league champions for Enyimba while Uche Oguchi is reported to be
on his way to Rangers. Sunday Mbah is rumoured to be in Kano with
Pillars while Achibi Ewenike hasn’t rejoined the side after attending a
few training sessions.

Last Sunday, Victor
Ezuruike and Osita Echendu took permission to go to Owerri to watch
Heartland take on Algeria’s JS Kabylie in the CAF Champions League.
Both players are yet to return.

The players’
attitude is said to be linked with the fact that they have not been
paid 20 match bonuses and are being owed three months salary and as
much as 60 per cent of their sign on fees from last season.

All about money

The club’s media
officer, China Acheru in a report published on the website of the
Nigeria Premier League, confirmed that players were still being owed
certain sums of money but expressed hope that they will soon be paid in
a matter of days.

“I think most of
the players not happy about being owed, which we understand. But we
expect that the money will be paid soon and we should have a full house
this weekend,” he said.

Owing to the
absence of most of the club’s key players, the coaches have had to rely
on untested players who are undertaking trials with the Port
Harcourt-based club in order to have a full training programme, a
development that is viewed as a distraction by the club’s team manager,
Stanley Eguma.

“You know we are in
pre-season but we cannot really start our program for the new season
because we have lots of players coming in as they all think they can
play for the club,” said the coach, who hopes the club’s spoonsors will
release funds on time for closed camping.

“It is not helping us because we need to concentrate and start planning for the new season.

“We can’t do that with this crowd here and that is why we need to go for close camping as soon as possible.”