C.K. Akonnor: Home-based players need to show consistency

Ghana coach Charles Akonnor

Thursday Apr 02, 2020. 14:00

Ghana national team coach C.K. Akonnor has called on locally-based players to show more consistency if they are to be called up to the Black Stars squad in the future.

Currently, the vast majority of Ghana’s team will be called from foreign leagues – a change from previous years when their used to a greater balance between those based overseas and players drawn from the domestic competition.

Akonnor, for example, told the Ghana Football Association’s official website that he first broke into the Black Stars while still based in the West African country.

“When I started playing, the likes of Frimpong Manso, Emmanuel Armah ‘Senegal’, there were senior guys you know, ‘Mayanga’, Salifu Ansah the goalkeeper, we had majority of locals in the national team…I started playing in the national team as a local player before I traveled abroad,” he revealed.

The Ghana coach went on to state that locally-based players still have a chance of being included in his plans, but they must work on closing the gap to those based outside the country.

“The locals, when you see them with the professionals [foreign-based players], there is a big gap. And that is up to them [to work on that],” said Akonnor.

“Of course, once I see a player doing well, I will give him that chance. They should also believe that they are coming to play, not even to be on the bench. And that will show automatically in training.

“These are the kind of things, they would have to do and it has to come from the individual. Yes, we’ve seen them, I’m not going to close my eyes on them, once they are doing well.”

He added, “My research tells me in Ghana no player has been able to play three matches on the top. Three, four it’s a challenge [for them]. They should challenge me.

“First match on the high, second middle and third you drop, and fourth on the high, no! They need to be consistent in their performance and they will automatically get in there [selection].”