Why we struggled to escape relegation - Isyaku

Why we struggled to escape relegation - Isyaku

By Vincent Akinbami, Kaduna

The assistant coach of Niger Tornadoes of Minna, Ilyasu Isyaku said his team's last day struggle to escape relegation in the just concluded 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier League was due to the absence of home support, having to playing its home matches on an away ground.

"We started well because we played at home in Minna at the beginning of the season. We were eight on the table at a time but when we started playing our home matches away from home, our performance dipped.

He said the fact that Tornadoes has a good team helped them wm to éscape relegation, despite winning five away games. "We had to wait till the last day to escape relegation."

As if buttressing his point, the coach said that the two other teams like Niger Tornadoes, that played away from home also got relegated. " We were even lucky if you consider that two other teams, Lobi Stars and Sunshine Stars like us that played away from home got relegated."

Coach Isyaku added that most of the boys that executed the league for Tornadoes played their first season In the premier league, stressing that most of them came from the Nigeria National League teams, while some from football academies across the country.

"We were building a new team and I want to use this opportunity to appreciate the players for their doggedness and the management for the support," he said.