Laryea Kingston rubbishes captaincy row as cause of Black Stars poor AFCON start

Former Ghana international Laryea Kingston has rubbished claims that the Black Stars are struggling at the Nations Cup because of the captaincy row that preceded their departure to Dubai for the pre-AFCON camping.

Before Kwesi Appiah announced his team for camping in the UAE, the country was rocked by the news of Gyan's retirement from the national team after it was reported he has been stripped of the captaincy.

Gyan later rescinded his decision and returned 41 hours later. He was subsequently named general captain with Andre Ayew the substantive captain.

Critics of the team believe there is a lingering discontent because of the changes but Laryea has debunked such claims insisting the players are professionals and won't allow the captaincy rumours affect their ambitions.

"We heard a lot of issues surrounding the Black Stars captaincy prior to the tournament but I don't believe that has affected the players," Laryea said on SuperSports.

"They are professional players and they played well against Cameroon and I hope they win against Guinea Bissau to qualify for the next round of the tournament," he added.