TNT Sports
"Intolerable pressure"
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Published 01/02/2004 at 17:24 GMT
Congo coach Mick Wadsworth says intolerable conditions and outside pressure from politicians and the country's soccer federation were responsible for his team's poor showing at the African Nations Cup finals. Follow Mali v Senegal and Burkina Faso v Kenya LIVE on eurosport.com/.co.uk at 14:00 cet on Monday!
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The former Zaire, who were African champions in 1968 and 1974 and the first black African country to compete at the World Cup finals, made an ignominious departure after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of their tiny eastern neighbours Rwanda on Sunday.
Englishman Wadsworth, who departs on Monday after a brief two-month contract, said the giant central African country needed a massive overhaul of its administration and planning if the team were to avoid a further fall from grace.
"The amount of pressure the players have to put up with from politicians and the federation is intolerable and unacceptable. They have spent more time talking to my players than me.
"Even at halftime today, I had to put up with a delegation of politicians that came in to address the players. To me that's unacceptable but what can I do?"
Congo finished without a single point in group A after also losing to the hosts Tunisia and Guinea, who both qualified for the quarter-finals.
The defeat against Rwanda is particularly embarrassing for the Congolese, whose only previous meeting with them was a 6-1 win at the 1976 Central African Games in Gabon.
Wadsworth refused to blame the performance of his players on Sunday despite his team missing a succession of opportunities and twice striking the woodwork.
"The most important thing is that the players worked hard and that's all I can ask from them," said Wadsworth.
"It's what's around them that's responsible. It doesn't matter if this team is coached by me or (Arsenal manager) Arsene Wenger or (Manchester United manager) Sir Alex Ferguson. It was the unprofessional preparation that destroyed our chances."
Congo faced a succession of money crises including the payment of bonuses to the players just before and during the early stages of the tournament.
Asked what advice he would given any future foreign coach of the troubled country's team, Wadsworth said: "Let him ring me first".
The Democratic Republic of Congo must now look ahead to the 2006 World Cup qualifiers which start in June. They are in a group with Burkina Faso, Cape Verde Islands, Ghana, South Africa and Uganda.
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