“It’ll mean everything” – Joe Aribo’s club coach dreaming of glory ahead of Championship play-off final against Leeds

Joe Aribo was a member of the Super Eagles squad that secured a silver medal at the AFCON 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast.

Southampton coach, Martin Russell, has revealed what it’ll mean to him if his team emerge victorious at Wembley in the EFL Championship final, Soccernet.ng reports.

Aribo, alongside the rest of the Saints’ team, were relegated from the English Premier League last season, but after a brilliant season in England’s second division, are on the cusp of return, with a win over Leeds standing in their way.

The Nigerian midfielder has been a regular for Southampton this season, scoring four goals in 37 Championship games this season.

The club’s coach, ahead of their play-off against Daniel Farke’s Leeds United, looked back on their season with a sense of pride, hoping to crown it all with glory at Wembley.

“I’m really proud. The responsibility of leading this club is big anyway, and to do it at Wembley is huge, but I want to give everyone a memorable game by winning it. I’m proud of what we achieved this year as a group. The players know they can do it, and it would mean everything to take this club back to the Premier League. It’ll be the biggest achievement of my life aside from being a father. It’ll be incredible,” Russell Martin said in an interview with Sky Sports Premier League.

Aribo played in both games as Southampton defeated West Brom in the play-off semi-finals and will be looking to get involved when they face Leeds United by 3 pm at Wembley Stadium in London.

 

 

 

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria. With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience. He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

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