Gombe United Chairman, Dr Larry Daniel has revealed how the club secured a promotion ticket to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), plans on how the Savannah Scorpions will win trophies and also stay in the top flight for years.
The team after two seasons in the second tier division of the country’s domestic league grabbed one out of the four promotion tickets after they emerged second in Group A with five (5) points with leaders Niger Tornadoes.
Dr Daniel told the media after the feat: “Football is not rocket science, what we did first was to get right our player’s recruitment process by getting the quality we needed to achieve our set target as a club.
Days after I was appointed to lead the Savannah Scorpions new board, we thought it wise to have a round table talk with the technical crew. They told us the areas we needed to proffer solutions to.
" We went the extra mile to getting the players they have pencilled down to deliver the goods for the club.
" Gombe United is not back to the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) to make up the number rather we are in the top flight division to compete for titles and get a continental ticket.
" Our critics would say we are already talking tough when I said Gombe United will compete for a ticket to play continental football, yet we forget that regardless of teams like Shooting Stars, Tornadoes, Remo Stars and Gombe United, they have the quality to battle other top teams for the CAF Confederations Cup, regardless the fact that they were in the Nigerian National League(NNL).”
Stressing further, “Our performance in the NNL Super 8 play-off in Enugu was fantastic. Kudos to the coaching staff and players for putting their best to see us achieve our target for the season.
The reason why the club easily get relegated after a season or two in the NPFL is the lack of structure.
" The plan was to secure an NPFL ticket, which we have done successfully. The next stage is how to remain in the top-flight division. What matters in football is continuity and having the right ingredients to get results.
" Not having a structure would mean, after getting a promotion ticket, you allow your backroom staff and quality players to leave by not holding them to a good contract. That’s is when failure starts.
" The next plan now is to just beef up the team with less than two players to allow for continuity in the team.
" Look at what happened after the likes of Barnabas Daniel and Ahmed Family left for Rivers United, as a club we had no intention to slow down their career. After letting the duo go, we replaced them with players that immediately filled the vacuum.
" Let me also use this medium to thank the Executive Governor of Gombe State, His Excellency Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya who has been up and doing for the club. Gombe United is among the few clubs in the domestic league that its players earn more than Two Hundred Thousand Naira monthly and get the salary alert as at when due like any public servant in the state.
" Now that Gombe United have gain promotion to the NPFL, Governor Yahaya has assured that there will be a meeting with the top agenda of finding ways to strengthen the club, as the top flight division is a different ball game entirely comprised to the Nigeria National League.”
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