Ghana boss Kwesi Appiah has defended his continuous exclusion of the Ayew brothers from the Black Stars, and insists he made those decisions without any personal malice.
The Ghana boss controversially dropped the Ayews during his first spell in charge for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, but insists he is simply doing what he thinks is in the best interest of the team.
“Whomever I call, people will complain so that is something I am used to,” Appiah told KwesèESPN.
“There are so many players doing very well and there is no way I can call up everyone,” Coach Appiah added.
According to him, his only concern is that he makes “the right calls, with what is ultimately good for the team as the major guide, and not allow what people complain about to influence me.” Adding, “if I am to bother about that then I will be calling up about 100 players.”
After failing to rescue Ghana’s 2018 World Cup bid, Appiah’s main mandate now is to prepare a team that will attempt to end the country’s long Nations Cup trophy drought in 2019.
According to him, reports of that happening without fresh faces is way off the mark, as he explains his stance on inviting news players into the team:
“I have not said that I won’t invite new players from next year, what I have kept saying is that I will stop the bulk invitations per match, and limit it to one or two who are outstanding at club level.
“Whether you are building a team or have one in place, there is no way you can shut the door completely on new players, but it is also true that as a coach you need a core group you work with and the plan is to get that as quickly as possible next year.”
Source: KweséESPN
