Enyeama not guaranteed Eagles No.1 – Shorunmu

Despite goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama being in   fine form for Lille in the season, he will not be guaranteed a starting spot at the summer’s World Cup in Brazil, says Super Eagles goalkeeping coach Ike Shorunmu.

Enyeama, who started  all six games for  the Eagles  in their   Africa Cup of Nations triumph in South Africa last year,   has been a consistent performer  since he helped  Nigeria qualify for the World Cup and  kept 11 consecutive clean sheets in  French Ligue 1 matches during the first half of the  season.

However, Shorunmu, who heaped praise on the 31-year-old keeper for his impressive form,  said  his  former  national team understudy should be ready to fight for his place in the Eagles ahead of the World Cup.

“Although Enyeama is still  our No. 1 keeper, he is not guaranteed the position at the World Cup,” the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations silver medallist told our correspondent on the telephone during the week.

“Anything can happen.  And I would say that the No.1 position is up for grabs. We will give every keeper invited to camp for the World Cup an equal chance of winning the No.1 shirt.

“Austin Ejide, Daniel Akpeyi  and Chigozie Agbim  are good keepers.  They deserve  to be given an opportunity to prove themselves.”

 Shorunmu  hit out at critics of   Agbim, insisting  the criticism the 29-year-old   received  during the Africa Nations Championship in South Africa  “is unfair”.

Agbim   was heavily criticised  for his schoolboy errors in Nigeria’s first CHAN  game against Mali and in their  second group match against Mozambique, with some of his critics calling for  his exclusion from the Eagles’   World Cup squad.

But leapt to the defence of the keeper, who was  released  by Enugu Rangers  on Wednesday  after the expiration of his one-year contract  with the Flying Antelopes,  saying  the ex-Warri Wolves star  deserved commendation for helping the country win bronze at the tournament.

He  said, “If  Agbim is not a good keeper, he wouldn’t have retained his place in the national team since 2011.

“Yes, he made  some mistakes during the tournament but everyone makes mistakes. Don’t those criticising him make mistakes? They only saw the mistakes he made, not  the saves he made.

“We are happy that he learned from his mistakes and improved  as the tournament progressed.

“The same people who wanted Enyeama dropped from the team when he made some mistakes  are the same people saying he’s our best keeper.

“We’ll not drop Agbim from the team because some people are criticising him. He’s part of our World Cup plan.”

The former Shooting Stars custodian insists goalkeeper Dele  Alampasu  “should wait for his time” as he is not yet ready for the Eagles.

Shorunmu said of the UAE 2013 FIFA Under-17 World Cup winner, “He  wasn’t used at CHAN because we believed in Agbim.

“He has something to offer ; he has a future with the team. But he must wait for his time.

“I’m sure he learned one or two things during training to develop in the game.”