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Fidelis Ilechukwu remains vehement in his belief that winning the NPFL is not Rangers Int'l's target this season.
Rangers Int’l manager Fidelis Ilechukwu has sought to downplay his side's chances of winning the Nigeria Premier Football League title this season, despite the Flying Antelopes currently sitting top of the table.
Rangers are two points clear of second-placed Enyimba having set remarkable away records, becoming the first team to hit a 19%-win rate on the road while scoring a league-high 46 goals per NPFLinData.
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What NFF & NPFL clubs can learn from Ghana FA boss' message on new media
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Ilechukwu on Rangers title hopes
Despite in good form and sitting pretty, Ilechukwu insists his targets are more modest, stating the league crown is not the priority this campaign.
"I have said this on different platforms, and maybe I need to say this again. Winning the league is not the target for this season," the Rangers boss said on X, formerly Twitter.
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"Enyimba, Remo Stars and others have an advantage," he added.
Ilechukwu's comments came in response to a fan highlighting Rangers' impressive away form and goalscoring exploits on Twitter.
While the former MFM and Plateau United man did not elaborate on what Rangers' aims for the season are, his eagerness to downplay title talk is an interesting approach from the league leaders.
Typically, managers would be bullish about their side's championship chances from such a strong position with six games remaining.
However, Ilechukwu appears keen to take the pressure off his squad and maintain modest expectations as they bid to claim a first NPFL title since 2016.
Enyimba and Remo Threat
Part of Ilechukwu's reticence may stem from the strong challenges being mounted by Enyimba and Remo Stars behind Rangers.
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The Aba outfit is the defending champion and boast plenty of title-winning experience that could prove crucial in the run-in.
Remo, meanwhile, have emerged as a strong contender again after coming second last season and will back themselves to sustain a remarkable push under Daniel Ogunmodede.
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With such strong competition, Ilechukwu seems intent on keeping his players grounded and focused on simply maintaining their high standards game-by-game.
If Rangers can keep picking up wins while playing with their trademark attacking style, the title may just take care of itself, modest targets or not.
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