The Nigerian national team manager Stephen Keshi has said that he wants complete commitment and professionalism from his players if they are to keep their place in the national team squad even after the end of the African cup of nations.

Nigeria will be hoping to qualify for this tournament after not playing at their best in recent international matches. Even with the presence of high profile players like John obi Mikel, Nigeria have not been able to make much of an impact in the international scenario of African football.

Stephen Keshi was extremely critical of his high profile players after the 2-2 draw with Liberia in the recent match. Nigeria were clearly the favourites to win the match quite comfortably, but they could not hold out a spirited Liberia side. The manager, though, is quite confident that the team will be able to show the commitment necessary to qualify for the African cup of nations. The country failed to qualify for the last edition, which led to the removal of the former manager Samson Siasia from his post. Keshi has been able to perform certain miracles with the squad in the last few matches. They have gone undefeated in the last five matches.

"Sometimes I feel the right mental attitude and hunger is lacking in our game and I won't condone that. The body language must change and must correlate with our game plans. We have a very simple approach and we expect everyone to understand and respect that at this level. I would prefer players to stay away and say they cannot make it - than for them to come and show Nigerians that we are not serious,” said the manager after the poor showing by the team in the 2-2 draw with Liberia. The second leg encounter will be played shortly.