Former Nigerian CB, Taribo West has blamed Jose Peseiro and his coaching team for the defeat to Côte d’Ivoire in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

In the group stage, Nigeria defeated Cote d’Ivoire, but failed to repeat the feat when they met in Sunday’s final.

Despite initially taking the lead through William Troost-Ekong, Nigeria succumbed to a spirited comeback from the hosts, with goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller sealing the victory for Côte d’Ivoire.

In an interview with Brila FM, Taribo West expressed his disappointment with the team’s performance and singled out the coaching staff for criticism.

“I hold the bench responsible for the loss to Côte d’Ivoire. In 1990 Nigeria lost 5-1 to Algeria in the opening game but in the final it was a different ball game.

“Though the Algerians won 1-0 in the final they realized it was a different Nigerian team to the one they faced earlier in the competition.

“I remember when we faced Brazil at the Olympics they beat us in the group stage but when we met again in the semi-final, even though they were 3-1 up we were still able to comeback. They knew they were up against another Nigerian side.​

“For me, the coaching crew should have come up with another strategy after meeting Côte d’Ivoire again,” He concluded.