The Eagles sensationally failed to qualify for the 2012 Nations Cup and coach Samson Siasia was sacked as a result when he failed to resign.
But just ahead of the Nigeria’s last qualifying match set against Liberia, Keshi has now vowed he will not be asked to go should his team again fail at the last hurdle to reach the Nations Cup tournament proper.
Eagles battle Lone Star in a two-legged qualifier beginning on Saturday in Monrovia for a place at the 2013 Nations Cup in South Africa. The second legged is billed for Calabar.
“If I fail, I won’t wait to be asked to go. I will throw in the towel and move on,” Keshi was quoted as saying by Mtnfootball.com.
“But God forbid that we get to a stage where we do not qualify. My boys are focussed and I am sure they also want to be in South Africa after they failed to get to the last competition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
“But football can be unpredictable and that is why we have to redouble our efforts to ensure we qualify.”
Keshi disclosed that Liberia have stepped up since his team beat them 2-0 in Monrovia in a friendly earlier this year.
“Their new coach has turned the team around since we beat them 2-0 and this only means we have to lift our game to win again,” said the coach, who watched the Lone Star beat Malawi in a warm-up match on Tuesday.
“They play a 4-4-2 formation, which means they will be very active in the middle. We shall see how we will counter them and get the goals.”
The Eagles were expected to fly out to Liberia from Abuja by 6am today on a chartered flight and return immediately after the game. By Tuesday all the players called up for the game had reported to the Abuja camp. On Wednesday, President Goodluck Jonathan paid the Eagles a visit at their training ground in Abuja.
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