The captain of Ikorodu City, Waliu Ojetoye, has noted that the mentality of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) club has drastically changed, which is why they are currently doing well in the league.
Recall that Ikorodu City, who gained promotion to the NPFL this season for the first time in their young history, recorded only a point in their first five games. The poor run of games forced their then-coach, Bright Ozebagbe, to resign from the role.
Interestingly, under their caretaker coach, Nurudeen Aweroro, who served as an assistant coach under Ozebagbe, the team has picked up an unprecedented form. They have recorded two wins and a draw in their last three games.
After Ikorodu City’s 4-2 win over Lobi Stars at Onikan stadium on Monday, Naijaonpoint asked the captain of the Lagos-based team Ojetoye what has changed in the team. He said, “The mentality and the character.”
He added, “In every game, we have to show a very good mentality and a good character to approach the game. We approached the game very well, and along the line, we were a little bit [off], and they got their first goal and their second goal, and they equalized us, and we have to change our mentality cause we are at home, we need this win, we needed the win.
“So the mentality was very different and it helped us a lot.”
With the 4-2 win over Lobi Stars, Ikorodu City have moved to the 17th spot on the league table with 8 points in 8 games.
When asked how strong the Lagos-based side would finish the season, the club’s captain said, “We are going up. You can see from our past few games we’ve been doing more work and it’s helping us on the field.”
Ikorodu City will face Enyimba away from home on Sunday, October 27, which is arguably their biggest test under the new coaching crew. After that, they will face Rivers United which is another big test for the Lagos side.
After his team’s win over Lobi Stars, coach Aweroro stressed that he and his team would take “one match after the other”.
On why Ikorodu City is currently doing well after a very poor start to the campaign, the coach added, “…I think it’s all about doing your job the right way, being diligent with your job. Once you are disciplined with your job, you are going to have results, so the team is moving forward, and I don’t think we are going backward. We are ready for all other matches ahead of us.”