'We are one of the big boys now' — NPFL youngest coach fires fierce warning to rivals after ending promotion suffering

Sporting Lagos head coach Jeff Buter has issued a defiant and decisive warning to the rest of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), declaring that his side are officially ready to rub shoulders with the traditional heavyweights of Nigerian football. 

After a grueling and painful journey to win promotion last season, coach Jeff spoke directly to supporters at a pre-season club town hall meeting. 

He opened up about the heavy insults he heard from fans during their lowest moments, the incredible turnaround that broke records, and why his team is ready to shock the league when the new season kicks off this weekend.

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Getting out of the lower division was a complete nightmare. Coach Buter didn't hide from the fact that the public completely doubted his ability to lead the club back to the big time after a poor run of form at home.

"It wasn’t easy," Buter told the crowd honestly. "Lots of ups and downs, public doubts. I still remember the 1-1 draw (vs Godswill Akpabio at home). The fans at the Happy Corner section of the stadium were completely furious. I was hearing plenty of things from the stands."

The pressure grew worse as the team suffered another disappointing draw at home. However, instead of abandoning the team, the fans started showing up in even bigger numbers.

"The support kept getting bigger," Buter remembered. "The game against Abakaliki had our biggest crowd ever. When we got that 2-1 victory, you could feel it in the stands that all of you started believing promotion was actually going to happen."

Now that the hard work of promotion is done, Sporting Lagos are focusing entirely on their first major challenge: a difficult away trip to Doma United this Sunday.

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Buter believes that their recent matches against elite teams in the pre-season Valuejet Cup tournament have completely changed the players' mindset. They no longer feel like small underdogs.

"Now, all of you can beat your chest and say, we are one of the big boys in the league also," Buter said to loud cheers. "It feels completely different. Compared to our previous season in the top league, we now have the mentality that we can go up against any team, we can compete, and we can beat any team."

The coaching staff and players have spent long hours on the training pitch to perfect their new tactics before the weekend trip to Gombe.

"We did not just get promoted, we did it by breaking a lot of records," Buter concluded. "We have to pick up right from where we stopped. This is a season where everyone should be very happy and optimistic. We are going to continue giving it everything."

Sporting Lagos failed to survive their last stay in the top league, but with a new attitude and a coach who has survived the worst of the fans' anger, the club is stepping onto the pitch on Sunday ready to prove they belong at the top.