Akwasi Appiah
Coach Akwasi Appiah believes when he prepares his side adequately, lifting this year’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) silverware will be achievable.
He said after last Friday’s draw that the presence of any team in the competition signifies their toughness and readiness for the competition.
Housed in Group F with defending champions? Cameroun, Benin and Guniea Bissau? many have concluded that Ghana could advance to the next stage with little difficulty.
Speaking to journalists just after the draw, Coach Appiah stated that underrating any team in modern football could be costly, adding, “We have the defending champions [Cameroon] in our group.
“Benin and Guinea-Bissau are all strong teams. For them to qualify, that means they’re doing very well.
“The most important thing is we need to prepare very well so that whichever team comes our way, we’ll be able to give them a very good game.”
“Unfortunately, because of the incident in Ghana, the [local] league was not ongoing so we had to rely mostly on our foreign players,” Coach Appiah explained.
“As you know, the players are professionals and when it comes to their work, the concentration [provided] is what they need to give out. So I believe that it [scandal] is not going to have too much effect on us. We’ll come out with the best that we can do.”
And responding to Captain Asamoah Gyan, who is nursing an injury inclusion, he said, “He is part of the players that I’m monitoring at the moment,” the coach revealed.
“He has an injury but we’re still monitoring the injury.
“Since he’s a Ghanaian, what I say is every Ghanaian has got the chance [to be selected], so you never know.”
Ghana, who will be based in Ismailia, last won the trophy in 1982, and will be seeking to win it for the fifth time when Egypt host the African Soccer fiesta this June.
By Kofi Owusu Aduonum P