Ajax legend Finidi George is losing grip on the NPFL title race - and the clock is running out to find it again

Three weeks ago, Finidi George was managing a title procession, now, he is managing a crisis. There is a particular cruelty to what is happening to Rivers United.

They did not collapse overnight, they did not suffer one catastrophic result that reset everything. Instead, they have been slowly, quietly, painfully drained of certainty, one narrow defeat at a time, until the title race they appeared to have won is suddenly, completely open again.

Three games, three losses and one goal scored. A lead that felt permanent and safe now feels borrowed.

He has identified it himself, which in some ways makes it worse. Rivers United dominate possession, at times above 60%, but possession without penetration is just comfortable irrelevance.

Opponents have figured out the formula: stay compact, stay disciplined, wait for the transition. Niger Tornadoes did exactly that. Scored once, defended well and won.

The deeper problem is that Rivers United's attacking threat has become too dependent on specific players. When those players are absent or out of form, there is no Plan B.

For a squad that spent most of this season looking like the class of the NPFL, that is a damning discovery to make in March.

Possession without penetration is just comfortable irrelevance. Opponents have figured it out.

Rivers United sit first and that sentence still sounds comfortable until you read the next one. Rangers International have 51 points and momentum moving in exactly the opposite direction.

They are not chasing anymore, they are waiting for the door to open. Ikorodu City, the team many dismissed as a pleasant surprise, sit third with 48 points.

They have already beaten Rivers United this season, the Oga Boys believe, and belief at this stage of a title race is worth more than most statistics.

The gap between first and third is four points. With eight fixtures remaining, that is nothing.

Finidi's next assignment is an away trip to Nasarawa United, another difficult away trip, which started in Ibadan, another team with nothing to lose against the league leaders.

If Rivers United lose that game, the conversation changes completely. It stops being about a bad run and starts being about whether this squad has the mentality to respond to genuine adversity. They have not been tested like this all season.

Finidi George has the experience of big moments as a player, Ajax legend, Super Eagles icon, one of the most gifted wingers Nigerian football ever produced.

The question is whether that translates to the dugout when the pressure is real and the margin for error has disappeared.

The title race is no longer a formality, it is a fight and Rivers United, for the first time all season, look like they might blink.