Sporting Lagos part ways with Paul Offor after fall-out over club’s ambitions

Maiden Naija Super 8 winners, Sporting Lagos, have parted ways with their head coach, Paul Offor and the entirety of his coaching crew, Soccernet.ng reports.

The result came as a shock to fans of the beloved Lagos club as Coach Paul helped the team to their first-ever season in the NPFL, alongside winning the only trophy in the club’s history.

Sporting Lagos are currently 11th on the NPFL table with 38 points from 30 games, and without an away win. They’ve recorded ten wins, twelve defeats and eight draws in the league so far. They also got knocked out of the Lagos FA Cup by their new rivals, Inter Lagos.

Soccernet.ng can exclusively reveal that the former Warri Wolves assistant manager had been demoted for a while. His recruitment policy, tactical gameplan, player preference and squad nepotism earned him a bad rapport with the club’s board.

Following Coach Paul’s demotion, Sporting’s technical director, Paul Aigbogun, was in charge of tactical duties and selecting the matchday squads but they kept Mr Offor on as the face of the technical team.

During the January transfer window, the club released Odafi Emmanuel, Saturday Okon, Abiodun Balogun, Godwin Udoh, Osan Mamah and Onyeka Ojieh as they were deemed not good enough.

Coach Paul also refused to sign South Sudanese defensive midfielder, Joseph Loro, who was on trial with the club for several weeks before the NPFL season kicked off after flying into Nigeria from South Sudan. The 35-year-old coach claimed he didn’t see the quality Loro possesses.

The coach also had preference for a particular set of players in the club. In the transfer market, he bullish about having his own players rather than the players that suited the club’s philosophy, which eventually led to his removal.

The club would have preferred to keep Coach Paul for a while longer, but their ambition is higher than the level they expected him to have delivered.

Former Kwara United manager, Abdullahi Biffo has been appointed to take charge of the coaching duties of the Noisy Lagosians.