Nigeria's senior women's national team interim head coach Austin Eguavoen says he is enjoying the challenge of leading the Super Falcons and is confident his players are fully prepared for their Olympic qualifying clash against Comoros.

Eguavoen admitted that his appointment may have surprised some observers, but insisted that his coaching experience and previous involvement with Nigeria’s women’s teams have prepared him for the task.

“Football is football. A lot of people were shocked and surprised that Eguavoen had to do the female team. Why not? It has to do with football. It is a sensitive job, but in my experience in coaching, I think it is something I can handle,” Eguavoen said.

“It is not the first time coming around the Super Falcons, Falconets and Flamingos. With the help of the coaches around, with a whole lot of women in the backroom staff, we can scale through. I am enjoying it at the moment.”

The former Super Eagles coach revealed that the Falcons have already held two training sessions, despite the late arrival of some players.

“We had two sessions already with the late arrival of a few players. Yesterday, we had a bunch of players. The numbers increased to about 22, which was quite encouraging,” he said.

“With the training, we are very optimistic because they were sharp. We are not in doubt about their fitness. Performance-wise, they are also very good.

“We are the best in Africa when it comes to women, but we have to do the job. We all know, and they are raring to go with their commitment. I have spoken to a couple of them. We will have a general meeting tomorrow. There is one goal in mind. It is to win this game and see what happens next.”

Eguavoen also explained how the technical team has maintained communication with players dealing with injuries, stressing that decisions have been made based on their fitness and medical assessments.

“Sometimes you can’t control things that are not in your hands. I remember reaching out to a couple of them and they called me as well. Right from the first day, we have been in touch, and when somebody is injured, it is good to keep that constant communication with the doctors to do scans, MRI. All those things have been achieved.

“At the end of the day, we just concluded between myself and the players that we can leave you out of this match and subsequently she will be available.”

The coach further emphasised the importance of representing Nigeria, urging the players in camp to make the most of their opportunity.

“Nigeria is big. We all know that when you are in this position, it is always a privilege and not a right. I know and they also know that. If you get an opportunity to represent your country at any level, you take the chance.

“I am very sure these girls want to take the chance because we are so blessed with talents. If you get a chance and don’t use it, somebody else will take it and use it while waiting for another chance.

“The girls that are in camp now are ready to go. A couple of them are from the U-20 team from the just-concluded World Cup in Poland, and there are also those who have been here before. We are 100 per cent ready.”