Date: 2017-09-13

The Director of Football (DOF), Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) Ilorin FC, Alloy Chukwuemeka, has said relegation was not part of what the club bargained for at the start of the just concluded 2016/2017 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

He said this after the Saraki Boys lost 2-1 to Nasarawa United in Lafia on Saturday in the final game of the season.

The Nigeria Premier League Club Owners' Scribe, said he was very disappointed with the outcome of the season but has learnt some great lessons from the bad season.

He added that although the club started the season on a brighter note but was later affected by what he described as ' the usual Nigeria football environmental factors'.

Chukwuemeka however expressed hope that with the solid football management structure in his club, the Ilorin side would make a quick return to the Premier League next season.

"With our sustainable football management structure I can assure you that we will bounce back to the NPFL soonest because that is where we belong "

"The objective of our proprietor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for the club was to give young boys lifeline through football.

"We have been able to achieve this, we had three of our victorious NPFL/La Liga U-15 Promises boys playing in the main team now.

"Few of the other young players we discovered may also move on to bigger clubs too.

"The beauty of it is that we have plenty talents in Kwara and Nigeria in general and we will discover more when we start the season," Chukwuemeka said. Chukwuemeka apologised to the fans for the embarrassment brought them with the relegation but assured them the team will bounce back sooner than expected.

The Saraki Boys still has the AITEO Cup to compete for as they tackle Unicem Rovers in the round of 16 of the competition on Wednesday in Calabar.