Inter Lagos head coach Shakiru Giwa has declared that his side are not in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) to make up the numbers, as the newly promoted club prepare to make their top-flight debut against Shooting Stars at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan, Trybal News reports.
Inter Lagos promotion to the NPFL last season marked the culmination of a two-season journey for Giwa and his team. Having joined the club midway through the campaign two seasons ago, the coach immediately set promotion as the team’s primary objective.
In his first full campaign with Inter Lagos, the team came agonisingly close to achieving that goal, missing out on the playoffs by just one point. Rather than allowing the setback to derail their ambition, Giwa and his players returned with renewed determination and eventually secured promotion last season.
When I joined the team, the main target was simply to promote. Two seasons ago, we missed the playoffs by just one point. It was painful,” Giwa said.
We put all our effort into the game. We worked so hard, and we also prayed a lot because I believe so much in the power of prayer. Despite the fact that we started a bit late and did not resume on time, by the grace of God we got promoted last season. It was a very, very good thing. It was like a mission accomplished.”
Promotion has now ushered Inter Lagos into a completely different challenge, with the club set to compete against some of the most established sides in Nigerian football.
Giwa admits preparations have once again been affected by a late start, but the club has strengthened the squad with several new additions and enjoyed a positive pre-season ahead of the campaign.
We have prepared ourselves a bit because we also started so late. We brought in a few players to fortify the team, and then we had a good pre-season,” he said.
However, we need ample time for the team to gel.”
The first test comes against Shooting Stars, with Inter Lagos travelling to Ibadan for a difficult opening fixture against the experienced NPFL side.
Despite the challenge facing his young squad, Giwa insists there is no intention of approaching the new campaign simply as a battle for survival.
We are not coming to the NPFL to complete numbers. We want to contest,” he declared.
We want to be comfortable, and we want to learn from all those top teams. We want to learn one or two things and add it to our own to become a better side.”
Inter Lagos will rely heavily on a young squad, with most of the players coming from the NNL and only around two having previous NPFL experience.
Giwa believes that lack of top-flight experience can be offset by the hunger and ambition within his squad.
The strength of the team is that we are dealing with young players who really want to play football and really want to make it in life,” he said.
We have a few experienced players, but most of them are young players with a lot of enthusiasm who really want to break into Nigerian football and the world at large. That stands as one of our strengths.”
For Giwa, tactical discipline will be equally important as his players adjust to the demands of the NPFL.
Our most important thing is that we want to stay in formation, we want to be tactically good, and we want to have a good year to showcase our talents and be happy,” he said.
While the coach has ambitions of seeing his team compete, he is keeping the immediate target realistic.
The primary objective, according to Giwa, is for Inter Lagos to establish themselves in the NPFL and retain their place in the division.
Firstly, honestly, we want to belong. We want to retain the NPFL, and trust me, we really, really want to do well,” he said.
We don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. Anything that comes after then, well and good. But honestly speaking, we want to stay, and we really, really want to give good account of ourselves and make our fans happy.”
Giwa is confident the team will continue to improve as the season progresses, particularly as his young players gain experience at the highest level of domestic football.
I know that week by week, the team gets improved,” he said.
For Inter Lagos, promotion last season represented the completion of one chapter. Their meeting with Shooting Stars now opens their first season among Nigeria’s elite.
Giwa knows the challenge will be significant, but his message is clear, Inter Lagos are here to compete, learn and grow.
It is not by power. It is by God and through the hard work,” he said.
