Stephen Keshi the Super Eagles coach still wants to coach Nigeria despite the failure in the last berth to qualify for the 2015 African Cup Of Nations.
Keshi is adamant that he is the right man to lead the Super Eagles into the future.
Disaster struck last week for Nigeria when they failed to qualify for Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament they won in its most recent edition, 2013.
Keshi, who was relieved of his duties before being recalled for Nigeria’s last two qualifying matches, does not feel that firing him again would be the way to go.
“If a team fails, sacking the coach won’t solve the problem. The authority should look beyond the coach to find solutions to the problem.
“I can’t deny it is a shame that we failed to qualify. On my part, I failed the nation but my players took South Africa for granted, a match they needed to win,” Keshi said.
Keshi’s agent, Emma Addo, also feels that the former Super Eagles AFCON winning captain is not to blame for the team’s current failure.
“No explanation will be acceptable now by Nigerians, but Super Eagles problems go beyond coaching. If some issues are not resolved, no one can succeed for long with the team,” Addo told the sl10.ng website.
“We shouldn’t forget where Keshi picked this team from in 2012, almost same place like they are now, but nobody cared about how they got there, that is why it happened again,” Adoo added.
Meanwhile,in another development, Keshi has been urged not to try to stay in the job after failing to qualify the team for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Keshi is currently without a contract with the Nigeria Football Federation.
And a top NFF official told BBC Sport: "Walking away honourably would be the smartest thing for Stephen Keshi.
"It's pointless to hang around when you've failed, have been completely rejected by the NFF and are unwanted by disappointed football fans."
Keshi endured a turbulent time during the qualification campaign, in which he was sacked by the NFF and only reinstalled after intervention from Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan.
And the intensity of speculation about his future increased followingNigeria's 2-2 draw with South Africa in Uyo last week that meant they will not play at next year's continental finals in Equatorial Guinea.
Nigeria had gone into the that match knowing a win would earned their place at the tournament, their failure to do so has left NFF president Amaju Pinnick refusing to name who he believes is "the ideal man to lead the team from the present dark to sunshine".
Keshi himself has refused to comment on whether it is the end of his time as coach with the team he steered to Nations Cup glory in 2013 and led to the last-16 of this summer's World Cup in Brazil.
But the NFF official added: "He does not have any contractual obligations with the federation; remember the board also offered to sponsor him and his assistants to managerial courses with good intention.
"He will probably get a job elsewhere before January but the country will not get the opportunity to play at the next Nations Cup."