Ghana’s Senior National team coach, Kwesi Appiah has disclosed that his selection for matches and competitions is based on players’ abilities rather than the ‘name’ a player might have made while plying his trade in the sports industry.
The Black Stars coach believes that each Ghanaian national should be given the opportunity to showcase what he has to offer and based on their abilities and potential decision is made on their inclusion into the national team.
Kwesi Appiah said there are occasions players who have made the name are expected to live up to some expectations but they fail to deliver on that trust.
Addressing the press after Black Star’s one goal victory over their Kenyan counterparts in Accra, the Black Stars’ coach disclosed that his assessment of some players and perception of other players have changed based on their performance against Kenya.
This he observed may influence his line up and those who will be called up for the upcoming AFCON in Egypt later in the year.
“I believe every Ghanaian has seen our team at the moment and there are some positions that we all know, like the striking department, even the defense after todays’ game I have different thoughts about it. It is important that we have such important opportunities so that when selecting the final team we all know what they can do, what they can bring on board. Sometimes the name alone doesn’t count. Sometimes you need to take tough decisions and move on with the team,” he told the media.
The Ghana Coach disclosed that he wasn’t enthused about having players restricted to specific roles on the pitch arguing that he prefers to set the team up with players free to function differently.
He defended his utilization of Ghana’s skipper on the day, Andre Ayew saying he prefers to make him have a free role often but that had to be modified in the course of the game because of the 4-4-2 formation he deployed for the match.
Kwesi Appiah explained that, “I don’t believe in players having specific positions in the game. As I said, we going to AFCON and it is important to make sure our players can play in different positions particularly in the case of injuries and illnesses at the AFCON.”
Ghana on Tuesday beat Mauritania by 3-1 in an international friendly organised to test more players as the Coach hopes to make his final selection ahead of the AFCON.
Caleb Ekuban was on target again, scoring the second goal after his heroics gave Ghana a heard fought 1-0 victory on Saturday over Kenya.
By: Jonah Eledi/awakenewsonline.com
