No Contract Extension For Howard At 3SC

Finally, after several days of speculations the tenure of coach Franklin Howard has ended with newly-promoted Nigeria Premier League (NPL) side, Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), refusing to extend the stay of the coach.
General Manager of the club, Mutiu Adepoju, disclosed to our correspondent in a telephone interview that Howard’s one-year deal with the club ran out in the just-concluded season and would not be extended.
Naijaligue.blogspot.com understands that the contract of Howard with Shooting Stars expired last Friday.
Adepoju also told our correspondent that the club has been besieged by applications from numerous coaches after the side gained promotion to the Premier League last term from the Nigeria National League (NNL) also known as the National Division I League.
“It is not a speculation because so many coaches have applied for the job of head coach. In football that is always the nature. There are so many people looking for jobs. Players and coaches are all scattered all over the country and they will be looking for new jobs. So it is not out of place to receive applications from them that they are looking for jobs,” he said.
The former Nigeria international, however, did not hide the fact that the expiration of Howard’s contract may be the reason for Shooting Stars receiving so many applications from different coaches in the country.
“His (Howard’s) contract has expired. There are no plans to extend yet. We have not sat to talk but we are looking at the applications we have at our disposal,” the Shooting Stars’ General Manager said.
But the man at the centre of the development, Howard told naijaligue.blogspot.com that he is waiting on the club to call him for contract extension and is yet to hear from the general manager.
The former Union Bank Football Club coach also revealed that no one at the Oluyole Warriors has spoken to him about extending his stay at the club, which hints at buttressing speculations that his services may no longer be needed at the Ibadan side ahead of the new season.
“Nobody has spoken to me about extending my contract since it expired last month (July). I have not heard from the general manager (Mutiu Adepoju) himself. But I am waiting for them,” he simply said with a tone of unhappiness in his voice.
It would be recalled that Howard led Shooting Stars back to the top-flight of league football in Nigeria after it spent three seasons in the lower league following its relegation in 2006.
Some of the coaches believed to have applied to take Howard’s job are Solomon Ogbeide, Zachary Baraje and Alphonsus Dike.