New Turkish Coach Tayfun Appointment Delights Heartland Players
The appointment of Turkish coach Mehmet Tayfun has been welcomed by the Heartland players and theclub’s new technical adviser and hope his arrival will bolster their survival in the Nigeria Professional Football League.
The Naze Millionaires have not had it easy and are currently 18th in the NPFL table having picked 17 points from 16 games.
The Owerri club, who recently directed their technical crew led by Ramson Madu to step aside and appointed Ezekiel Onyegbule as acting head coach, confirmed Tayfun’s appointment on Wednesday.
“I think it is a bold move by the management of the club. Though we don’t know much about our new technical adviser, we have strong belief that things will get better for us under him,” a key member of the team told Completesportsnigeria.com.
“It’s now a fresh start for us and I know everyone will be eager to impress the new coach which will bring out the best in all of us.”
Another player who also spoke with CSN on the condition of anonymity also expressed joy on the Turk’s arrival, praising the club’s hierarchy for the move.
“I’m happy with the decision of the club. I can tell you categorically that majority of my teammates are happy too,” he told CSN.
“Heartland is a big club and we shouldn’t be fighting relegation. We will give our all under the new coach and hope everything will work out well under him.”
Tayfun has a UEFA Professional Coaching License and his arrival was made possible by the existing technical partnership arrangement between Heartland and Turkish side Boluspur FC which was signed last year.
The 56- year-old was previously part of Boluspor’s coaching crew.
His first game in charge of Heartland will be Sunday’s Nigeria Professional Football League match day 16 clash against El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri.