Rivers United head coach, Finidi George, has revealed reason why his team failed to win the 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) title after finishing just one point behind champions Enugu Rangers.
The Pride of Rivers wrapped up their campaign with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Katsina United on the final day of the season.
However, the result proved insufficient as Enugu Rangers secured a 2-1 win over Ikorodu City in Lagos to claim a record ninth NPFL title.
Speaking after the match, Finidi admitted the disappointment of narrowly missing out on the championship but insisted his team must quickly shift focus to the President Federation Cup.
“As a player, I’ve passed through situations like this before,” Finidi said. “We still have to come back and continue because there’s still the Federation Cup to be played. We are also playing against Rangers, so we’ll see how we can bounce back as quickly as possible.”
Despite losing out on the title, the former Super Eagles coach praised his players for their response to a challenging campaign that included a disappointing outing in the CAF Champions League.
“Despite all the setbacks we had on the continent, for the players to respond this way, I think it’s not a bad one,” he added. “We’ll come back stronger. I know what went wrong, and next season those lapses will not happen.”
False Title Hopes Sparked Late Drama
Rivers United briefly believed they had been handed a lifeline in the title race when reports emerged that Rangers had conceded a second goal against Ikorodu City.
With their own match already concluded, a draw for Rangers would have been enough to hand the title to Rivers United.
However, the celebrations were short-lived after it became clear the goal had either been disallowed or never counted.
“We knew a draw would have given us the title because we had already finished our game,” Finidi explained. “That was a false alarm and it got everybody excited. But that’s one of those things. The league is over now and we’ll see how far we can go in the Federation Cup.”
Finidi Promises Better Recruitment Ahead of CAF Campaign
Looking ahead to next season, Finidi revealed that Rivers United will focus heavily on strengthening the squad as they prepare for another challenge in continental football.
“It all boils down to recruitment,” he said. “We’re going to do better recruitment for the CAF Champions League. We know where we had our setbacks and we’ll get it right next time, both in the league and in the Champions League.”
Consistency Cost Rivers United the Title
When asked to assess his team’s overall performance this season, Finidi pointed to one key factor that separated Rivers United from the eventual champions.
“I would say we were not consistent all through,” he admitted. “If we had shown a little bit more consistency, I don’t think we would be one point behind Rangers on the last day. In some moments, we lacked that consistency.”
Rivers United end the season as runners-up after an impressive campaign, but Finidi believes greater consistency and improved recruitment could be the difference between disappointment and silverware next season.