"The quest for the just concluded season was to retain the league we won the season before. We wanted to do it for the club, the fans and the new players that joined us but it wasn't an easy one. We tried all we could to retain our title," stated Enyimba Int'l midfielder, Ekwutoziam Eze in an exclusive interview with Nigeriasoccernet.com.
Eze who joined Enyimba from Delta Force in 2021 had seven goals contribution last season, scoring thrice and assisting four times across 4 competitions for the People's Elephant.
Eze claimed despite the busy and tight schedule for the team they were able to push themselves to what a tagged 'a fantastic season'.
"We played in the league, CAF Champions League, the AFL. There was a time we played 3 games within a week but of-course that's our job and we just have to. I'll say for us it's a fantastic season even though people feel it's a disappointment because we didn't win the league, finished 3rd on the log after winning the last campaign which wasn't the target going into the season but we're happy and proud of ourselves.
"Everyone tried their best for us the players from the management team to the coaching crew and the fans but it ended that way. We've learnt our lessons this season and we'll be back stronger next season."
Moving from a lower division to Enyimba in 2021, Eze believes this is his best season so far in Nigeria's topflight league with the former NPFL champions.
"This is absolutely my best season. I scored on my champions league debut which was a dream come through for me and you know my teammates made that happen. In the league I had 7 goals contributions, scoring 3 times and making 4 assists playing from six different positions during the season which included playing at the eight-ball against Rivers United."
Eze who hail from Amala community in Enugu State, South Eastern part of Nigeria turned down a couple of offers from clubs during the season and with the season ended already, the big midfielder will likely consider them but not after enjoying the break with his family.
"Talking about the next move, right now the season is on break and I want to put everything aside for some rest. During the season, I had several offers which I didn't attend to because it wasn't time for that. For now it's time to rest but after some weeks I'll talk about them.
Oluwayemi Omolagba