Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has disclosed that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) advised him to stop inviting John Obi Mikel, Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike to the national team when he became head coach.

Speaking on The Play Zone Podcast, Oliseh said the federation had described the three players as difficult to manage, but admitted that he regretted ignoring the advice.

The former Nigerian international explained that he had tried to resolve the situation by meeting the players personally rather than making decisions based solely on what he was told.

He recalled travelling from Belgium to France to meet Enyeama, who was playing for Lille at the time. According to Oliseh, the discussion helped him understand the former goalkeeper’s position and clear up some issues.

His attempt to meet Mikel and Victor Moses in London, however, produced a different outcome. Oliseh said he paid for the trip himself, contacted the players and arranged a meeting at a location in central London, but only Moses showed up.

Oliseh expressed disappointment that Mikel neither attended the meeting nor responded to his WhatsApp message. He described the incident as one of the biggest insults he had experienced, although he insisted that he did not take it personally.

The former coach suggested that Mikel’s status at a major European club might have influenced his attitude. He stressed that players must respect the office of the national team coach, regardless of their individual achievements or reputation.

Oliseh said Moses used the opportunity to discuss his concerns about the Super Eagles, some of which the former coach said he understood from his own experiences with the team.

He also offered a different assessment of Emenike, describing the former striker as a gentleman who treated him with respect. Oliseh praised Emenike’s quality and highlighted his contribution to Nigeria’s successful campaign at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

Beyond his experiences with the former players, Oliseh expressed concern about the standard of Nigeria’s current crop of internationals, arguing that the country has fallen behind previous generations in terms of individual quality and club experience.

He said Nigeria’s football problems should not be difficult to identify, insisting that the present generation lacks the quality displayed by many of the country’s former stars.

To support his argument, Oliseh mentioned players such as Finidi George, Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amuneke, Victor Ikpeba, Taribo West, Celestine Babayaro, Ben Iroha and Tijani Babangida.

He pointed to their experiences at established European clubs, including Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Monaco, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Chelsea, as evidence of the standard Nigerian footballers once achieved abroad.

Oliseh also challenged Nigerians to identify current Super Eagles players representing clubs with realistic ambitions of winning the UEFA Conference League, Europe’s third-tier club competition.

His comments suggest that he believes the national team’s difficulties go beyond coaching decisions and team management, with the quality and competitive level of the players themselves requiring serious attention.