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A popular advertisement has it thus: ‘If it is not Panadol, it can be like Panadol’. This simply means that you can only get one original product of the drug in the market; that any other drug, which bears that name, is fake. And former Abiola Babes star, Toyin Ayinla, says "there can never be another Austin Jay Jay Okocha in Nigerian football."

The former coach of Kwara United made this assertion on the heels of Okocha’s retirement from active football, adding that "people may act like Okocha or play like him, but they can never produce the finesse and dribbling showmanship of the former Super Eagles’ skipper."

Ayinla, who has yet to determine his next move after his sack from Kwara United, says Nigeria will definitely miss Okocha dearly, because he was a great inspiration in the Super Eagles’ midfield in most of the matches he played for Nigeria.
"We can never get somebody like Okocha again. He was a fantastic player. Okocha was an entertainer. He made football fans to enjoy the worth of their money. With Okocha in the pitch, there was never a dull moment.

"Okocha was the heart of any team he played for. I love his style and the way he played with the ball. At times, he would act like a magician, which he’s not. Football was part of him. He lived, drank and worshipped football as he lasted in his active career.
"For me, Nigerians should make Okocha happy by appreciating all he sacrificed for the progress of football in the country. Okocha is a hero."

According to Ayinla, "football is dying in Nigeria because teams no longer play entertaining football." For him, the concept of winning matches has changed drastically as teams are no more playing to give fans the value for their money.
"Although there is improvement in Nigerian football, it is not as I would have wished it to be. If clubs can start again to play good football, fans will begin again to rush to our stadia to watch matches. Our standard of football must change for good, we need to do something to make it look more entertaining."

Continuing, he says: "During my active days as a player, we used to entertain the crowd with our styles of play. We used to make them happy. There were no dull moments. The Nigerian League then was a delight to watch, but now, the rule is to ‘win at all cost’.
"Good football produces good players, and it is good players that make a good team. So, I still advocate that there should be finesse in the way our footballers play the game."
On how he is managing in the country, Ayinla says: "Life is still the same. I never regretted being a player and a coach. I enjoyed everything I should get as a player and I’m always grateful to God for helping me thus far in life."

Talking about his experience with Kwara United, he says he should be absolves of blames, noting that nobody should hold him responsible for the club’s relegation to the lower division.
Meanwhile, sacked Kwara United’s assistant coach, Tunde Sanni, had blamed Coach Ayinla for the team’s woes, revealing that the Afonja Warriors’ former head coach was not firm in handling his players after the death of their erstwhile handler, Gafaru Alabi.
According to him, Ayinla was too soft on the players when it came to instructing them on what to do. He claimed that if he (Sanni) were to be in charge, some of the players would not have stayed longer than they did in the team.

It would be recalled that Kwara United bagged relegation ticket last season after drawing their last match at home with Bayelsa United, when they needed to win to remain in the top-flight. But Ayinla says he did his best as a coach and had never expected that the club would go down like they did. However, he says he has placed everything in God’s hand to judge.

According to Ayinla, Kwara United were relegated because God had wanted it to be so, stating that they tried all they could to justify the amount spent on the team by the state government.
"It is one of those things in football. You win some and lose some. Football is always like that. Nobody should point accusing fingers at me, because everybody in the team had his own responsibilities and I carried mine out.

The coach further says: "Nothing has changed in my attitude to life. I have decided not to indulge in anything that will destroy my mission in life. People do complain that I don’t drink, smoke or womanise. But I believe that no amount of complaint will change me. I am just what I am."