All Stars can retain Premier League title - Oduro Nyarko

Wa All Stars chief executive officer Oduro Nyarko says they are favourites to win the Ghana Premier League in the 2017 season.

The club capped yet another fairytale season by lifting the trophy with 51 points, two ahead of Aduana Stars, with Asante Kotoko, Ashanti Gold and Hearts of Oak far behind.

However, despite losing Armando Mohammed and Joseph Adjei to Cordoba and Cape Town FC respectively, he claims they still have the best of materials to be champions once more.

"I understand that we will be the target to all clubs next season. All eyes will be on us because we won the league title in the previous campaign," Nyarko told Asempa FM.

"However, only four clubs were able to pick a point from our home grounds in Wa and we defeated the rest. We were able to also pick four wins in our away games, sharing the spoils six times and losing in seven games so almost the clubs are aware of the threat we pose and will try to double their efforts whenever we face them but we're adequately prepared to successfully maintain the title.

He added: “Moreover, our squad for last season is not depleted ahead of the new campaign and we've been able to bring on board few young lads to complement it. Goalkeeper Richard Ofori, Kevin Andoh, Emmanuel Ocran and [Kwaku] Asuandzie are all available. If a club is able to maintain its full squad for another season with good training, one can realise that they can be champions again.

All Stars will be representing Ghana in the Caf Champions League next season but Nyarko says they will be battle ready for their maiden campaign.

"Oppositions in the Caf Champions League are very tough so we’re seriously preparing and hoping for the best. We can't meet clubs like T.P Mazembe and Al Ahly with weak squad so everything will be fine by the time we play our first match," he said.

The Ghana Premier League season's kick off date is not confirmed but reports suggest it will begin in February after the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Gabon.