Nigeria boss Jose Peseiro has explained why he opted to snub Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers for his African Cup of Nations squad.
The Ibrox hitman has scored nine goals so far for Rangers in all competitions after his £4.3 million summer move from Cremonese.
But although he was named in Nigeria's preliminary list, he didn't make the final cut for the 25-man squad for the Finals which will be played in Ivory Coast.
And Portuguese boss Peseiro has revealed why he didn't take the four-times capped striker to the Finals.
He said: "We could have taken 27 players, but the Federation decided to go with 25 and I agreed because it is easy to manage this number.
"We first came up with the 41 players, then the players who made the final list have been with us and they have shown good performance.
"For the ones who aren't in the final squad, there are players who showed good performance for their clubs, but didn’t do well in the national team.
"Also, there are players who do well for the national team and didn’t do well for their clubs.
"So we looked at current form, if they are playing well and showed good condition and came up with the final list.
"It was not easy to choose the 25 players, but it was my responsibility and I hope and pray they play well for us.“
