'He isn't my friend anymore' - Rangers boss and Remo Stars coach trade words after painful defeat

Remo Stars coach Daniel Ogunmodede has traded words with his Rangers counterpart, Fidelis Ilechukwu, after their game on Matchday four of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).

Remo Stars continued their impressive start to the NPFL season, defeating the defending champions Rangers International 2-1 in their matchday four clash.

The game played at the Remo Stars stadium, Ikenne, Ogun state, saw Alex Oyowah break the deadlock for the home team in the 51st minute.

However, Kenechukwu Agu levelled the score for Rangers four minutes later from the penalty spot.

Tochukwu Michael secured the victory for Remo with a powerful shot in the 60th minute, extending their winning streak to four games and maintaining their position at the top of the table.

Reacting after the game, Ogunmodede confirmed that he doesn't expect his counterpart, Ilechukwu to be happy after the loss at the Remo Stars stadium.

"After a lot of investment, he's a workaholic, he's my friend and I don't expect him to be happy. If he's happy then he isn't my friend anymore and that means he isn't dedicated to his job.

"Just as I was sad in Enugu the last time, I was extremely sad. We couldn't see until I left Enugu. But this time, he's sad, it's normal, let him enjoy the sadness and come back. Nothing takes away our friendship, he's my friend and he will always be my friend," he said.

Reacting to Ogunmodede's claim, the former MFM coach fired back, claiming he was disappointed with the sportsmanship displayed by his opponent.

He said, “I'm disappointed with Ijaball today. Big disappointment, in football, you have to value human. You don't win by all means. You don't have to show disrespect to win. You told your player to throw fair play because you want to win. You don't have to win.

"We didn't win the league this way. In football we value humanity, we value life because it's a marathon. If we don't win this place, we can win other places. I don't want to have friends that want to win by all means.”

Ogunmodede and Ilechukwu are current assistant coaches to interim Super Eagles coach Austin Eguavoen.