Finidi George says his omission from Nigeria manager Adeboye Onigbinde's 55-man pre-World Cup squad is not about football, but about politics. The 30-year-old Town winger was left out of the squad last week along with skipper Sunday Oliseh.

Finidi said: "If the team is picked on performances then I will make the squad going to the World Cup but there is a lot of politics involved.

"As the players' representatives we always fought for our rights. The FA did not want to pay bonuses, they did not want to give refunds on our flight tickets, we criticised the Nigerian FA and they did not like it.

"That is why Sunday is no longer captain and I'm no longer vice captain.

"But we represented the players and we stood up for them. We asked the questions and fought for our rights."

Nigeria's African Nations' Cup campaign saw disharmony between the players and the Nigerian Football Association. First the players were unhappy that bonuses from World Cup qualification hadn't been paid, then there was a row about kit and players' own endorsements and later an argument regarding the payment of players' travel back to their clubs.

Despite the rows the Town man is still keen to play for his country: "I love playing for my country. I want to play for Nigeria. We were the ones who made sure the team qualified for the World Cup. It was not easy but it was the experienced players who stood tall and helped make it happen.

"That is the annoying thing, we did that but all of a sudden they are saying we are not good enough. If I had not played in those qualifiers then it would have been fair to leave me out but that was not the case."

Onigbinde, who previously coached Nigeria in the mid-eighties, has picked a squad which does leave him open to question. While the likes of Finidi and Sunday Oliseh are out, included is Birmingham City's Dele Adebola who hasn't played a league game in nearly a year.

Finidi has said before he is not impressed with the new man's credentials: "Someone who has not been active for 18 years can not take the national team to the World Cup. It would not happen anywhere else, not in Spain, Holland, England, anywhere."

Finidi still feels that a foreign coach would give Nigeria a better chance in Japan and Korea: "It all depends how these friendly games go. If they win Onigbinde will stay, if not then they will get a foreign coach and then, if the side is picked once again on performances and experience, Sunday and myself will be in the squad."

He was also unimpressed at Nigeria coach Dudu Orumen who said that Finidi only played for 19 minutes of a Town game and that the rest of the team had to cover for him: "That is inexcusable to say that. In England I have to defend even if it is not my strongest point. I don't know what game he saw but if he thinks I only played for 19 minutes that is rubbish."

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