Gernot Rohr says there is ‘no hurry’ for him to make a decision on his future as Nigeria coach after the team’s defeat to Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final on Sunday.
The 66-year-old, who still has a year left on his contract, has faced unrelenting criticism over tactics and choice of players. But Rohr has confirmed that he will take time after Wednesday’s third-place play-off against Tunisia to decide the next step.
“There is no hurry because we want to finish third now. We will take a look at my overall results after the third-place match,” Rohr told BBC Sport. “I’m still under contract for another year, so we will see what is decided together. There are positives for us to look at on this journey, but after this final game we can think and then talk about the future.”
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has already indicated a desire for Rohr to remain in his post.
But local media and fans have expressed their discontent at tactics and team selections, and Rohr’s future has been under speculation for some time despite leading the team to a first Nations Cup since 2013. However, Rohr was quick to focus on his side’s progress and the attempts to build a team for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“The team is already on a good level. After the World Cup, we tried to rejuvenate the team,” he added.
“When you’re playing in the semi-final of this big tournament you are already at a very good level. I also want to see the players who couldn’t play in this tournament yet, to finally have a team where everybody played.”
Rohr took charge of the three-time African champions in August 2016 and qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia where the team failed to make it past the group stage.
