Warri Wolves head coach Hassan Abdallah has trimmed his squad by releasing six players following the club's 1-0 defeat to Rangers in a pre-season friendly in Asaba, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The Seasiders fielded a revamped starting XI for the encounter, with nine new signings handed opportunities to impress. Those who started included goalkeeper Miracle UK Alike, Sani Ahmed, Okon Samuel, Wisdom Tom, George Ekong, Alex Aguodoh, Town Eventus and Auwa Abubakar.
As the game progressed, Abdallah also assessed several players from the bench, introducing Blessing Ndubuisi, Kennedy Osamudiame, Ita Peters, Yusuf Omotayo, Christian Mayoku, Daniel Ezegbu and Emmanuel Utuyo at various stages of the contest.
Following his evaluation of the team's display, the coach decided to part ways with six players, explaining that the decision was based on their performances and suitability to his tactical philosophy.
"Pre-season games serve as an avenue to assess your players' individual performances, their understanding and adaptation to your philosophy, and their ability to blend with the rest of the team.
"And it's after such careful assessment and technical evaluation of the players' contributions to the overall development of the team that you can say, yes, this or that player will or will not be an asset to the team. That's what we've just done," Abdallah said.
The former Katsina United coach, however, declined to disclose the identities of the released players, insisting that doing so could negatively affect their careers or transfer prospects.
"It's not necessary at this point to begin mentioning names. Doing so would affect their careers at their parent clubs or their potential market value. But, in all, six players are affected in this exercise."
With the 2026/27 Nigeria Premier Football League season set to kick off next month, Abdallah also appealed to the Delta State Government for increased support as the club continues preparations for the new campaign.
"It's just that we want the state government to support us very, very well, financially and otherwise.
"And I think they have been doing that. But like the proverbial Oliver Twist, we need even more of their maximum support. For now, however, things are moving on well," he concluded.