Exclusive: Coach Bright Ozebagbe Reveals How Interference Forced Him Out Of Ikorodu City FC

Bright Ozebagbe was the head coach of Ikorodu City for over two years. He led the Oga Boys to gain promotion to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) ahead of the 2024-2025 season.

Ozebagbe first announced himself in the elite Nigerian football space when he led Ikorodu City FC, filled with youngsters, to defeat Suddense reigning champions, Al–Merrikhh SC and Rivers United, led by former Super Eagles coach Finidi George, in the Value Jet Pre-season tournament in Ikenne, Ogun state. They were so compact in the tournament that they made it to the final where they were defeated by the host club, Remo Stars.

With such a run, it was expected that Ikorodu City should have a fair NPFL campaign under coach Bright Ozebagbe even though it was their debut season. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be as they managed to record just a point in their first five league games.

Amid the poor results, Ikorodu continued to maintain their possession-based style of play but since professional football is all about the results, sacrifices had to be made. Interestingly, coach Ozebagbe didn’t wait to be sacked, he decided to resign from his role five games into the new season.

When Naijaonpoint asked him what went wrong with his promising team, the coach said, “What went wrong for me as the coach? Well, nothing went wrong. We were going through a transition from NNL to NPFL so the team needed some time. We have new players in the team, and patience and a little bit of time were needed for us to start getting the needed results.”

On what prompted him to throw in the towel very early into the challenging season, the coach revealed: “I resigned, yes. When you are not happy with decisions that are affecting the team’s performance, yeah, and you have some shared values, you cannot just pretend to everything being well, so once the interference is not going as planned, and I don’t want to be responsible for that. I want to make decisions and take responsibility, so I needed to resign and allow things to be.”

Coach Bright Ozebagbe left Ikorodu City after watching his team suffer a 3-0 defeat to Kano Pillars in their NPFL opener, a 0-0 draw with Kwara United, a 0-1 home defeat to reigning league champions, Enugu Rangers, 1-2 home defeat to struggling Nasarawa United, and a 1-0 away defeat to Plateau United.

Then, it was looking like Ikorodu City had no way out, and coach Ozebagbe was bound to lose his job as there was little or no sign of improvement in terms of the outcome of games. But his resignation after the matchday five still came as a surprise to many.

In his chat with Naijaonpoint, coach Ozebagbe revealed that one of his biggest weaknesses at the club was not being outspoken enough when the club’s hierarchy made wrong decisions.

“During my time at Ikorodu city, what I would have done differently is I think a little bit more outspoken when certain decisions don’t seem or feel right with the team”, he said. “I would have been a little bit more outspoken with management and tried to make them see reasons so I think this I would have done better.”

While regretting his failure to be more outspoken during his managerial reign at Ikorodu City, the aspect of his time at the club that excited him the most was watching youngsters develop into superstars.

He noted, “For the past 2 to 3 years, I have been watching players’ development from where they used to be to where they are right now and how the team has been able to function optimally.

“So this, for me, is something that gladdens my heart. The progression, the development of the players, and the team in general caught the eyes of a lot of fans.”

One of the things most fans of Ikorodu City, especially those who go to the Onikan stadium to watch the team play, complained about is the fact that the team is made up mostly of youngsters and players who had not tasted elite football before joining the club.

Initially, it was looking like the club management forced that on coach Bright Ozebagbe but the coach has made it clear that it was also his philosophy to work with young talents.

“The team has that philosophy yes. I like to work with young players, yes, so it’s a marriage that was well-planned. It’s both ways. I’m comfortable with young players, and I now got myself in a team that believes in that, so yeah, it was both ways, and that worked well for us”, he said.

The coach also urged NPFL enthusiasts to watch out for one Malik Anofin, a youngster who is currently playing for Ikorodu City’s under-19 team.

“Malik Anofin, yes, he’s with the under-19, and he’s registered to play with the main team”, he said. “But he had not had any game time before I left, but he was still going to come in. He’s a good player. He is a player that has developed well these past few years and I think the league should watch out for him.”

On what is next for him as a coach, Bright Ozebagbe noted, “I’m still weighing my options hopefully. I’m taking my time to decide what’s next, and we’ll come back stronger, and we’ll see what God has for us.”