Former Nigeria international Garba Lawal has picked inconsistency as a key reason why players from the country have failed to be named as Africa’s best.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will learn their fate on Tuesday evening when the 2018 winner will be crowned in Dakar, Senegal.
Alex Iwobi failed to make the final cut and the 44-year-old is not surprised by Caf’s decision to yank off the Arsenal star from the top three.
According to him, Nigerian players must remain unswerving in their bid to win the prestigious accolade last won by legendary Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
“I will say that I am not surprised at all with the inability of any our players to make it to the top three of the Caf African Player of the Year because our players have not been in-form for their clubs,” Lawal told Goal.
“They have always struggled to reproduce the performance of previous games because they are not consistent. They must work on themselves and strive to ensure that they compete favourably among the best.
“They cannot continue to be blowing hot and cold at the same time. They must try to emulate what other players of other countries in Africa are doing that is making them maintain their form.
“I don’t think we have a solution in sight but if we work harder may be in the next two or three years we will be having a change of perspective regarding it. It is no miracle. Our players must work harder and ensure that they are consistent like their counterparts in Europe.”
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