A former Green Eagles Captain, Christian Chukwu, has praised the Super Eagles for their smooth sail in the 2010 Nations Cup/World Cup qualifiers, saying that the team‘s performances in the past two weeks have convinced him that the sky is their limit.

Nigeria on Sunday defeated Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Malabo in a qualifying encounter to seal the maximum points from three matches and retain its top position in Group Four.

Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone on Monday, Chukwu said he was happy that the Eagles had survived tricky encounters with minnows within a week, dismissing the attacks on the team for its low score victories.

The former Eagles coach said, We have been telling Nigerians that there are no longer minnows in the game because every country on the continent is growing. The results of the qualifiers at the weekend have proved this again. Imagine Ghana losing to Gabon 2-0. It shows that no country should be underrated these days.

I‘m happy that we defeated Equatorial Guinea. The score does not matter but the points. We have won and it will remain so for ever.

I‘m aware that some people expected us to beat the Guineans 4-0 or more but that doesnt happen much on the continent these days because every team playing against Nigeria always comes out to prove a point. As far as I‘m concerned, the players did very well. I hope we sustain the tempo and win more games.”

Chukwu appealed to Nigerians to give coach Shaibu Amodu time to develop the team into a formidable side, insisting that it was not possible for the Eagles to play attractive football within a short period of the new coaching crew.

He said, We have to win ugly for now and continue to lead the table. But I‘m very sure that soonest we will start beating our opponents with wide margins.

The coaches have just started with the team. Apart from that, there are new players in the team and it is not easy to blend within a very short period.

However, I see the Eagles on the road to greatness again because of the new spirit in the team.

I want everyone to support Amodu and the team. They need our encouragement and not criticism.”