"PAY ME MY MONEY!"

Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has criticised the Nigeria Football Federation for failing to pay him his salary for seven months.Keshi, who is preparing the Eagles for November's World Cup play-off second leg against Ethiopia, has not been paid since he led the Super Eagles to the Africa Cup of Nations title in February.

"The lowest point of my career is working and not being paid for seven months," he lamented. "I have never had this kind of experience before."

"In Mali, they will never owe you; your salary will hit your account before the end of every month. It was the same thing in Togo.Owing me up to eight months makes me feel I am not being appreciated, it is like they think I am being favoured in what I am doing. I am not being favoured. I am giving everything I have to the job - I need to be respected and given my pay."

Keshi's comments come after a statement credited to the Nigeria Football Federation said that the allowances and bonuses the team's coaches earn are enough to sustain them. "I don't like discussing money issues and if there is any NFF member who said we can work for free, then I will want to speak with him face to face," Keshi said. "If they say we can work for free and that they are not going to pay, so be it.
"I can't have my family abroad and I will be in debt because I have not been paid for seven months and somebody is saying we should not complain."

This
is not the first time Nigerian coaches have been not been paid; Christian Chukwu, Shaibu Amodu, Samson Siasia, Austin Eguavoen, John Obuh and Eucharia Uche have all previously complained about outstanding salaries in the recent past.