Avram Grant reveals Christian Atsu's pledge before 2015 AFCON performance

Former Ghana coach Avram Grant has spoken out about his role in Christian Atsu's success at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.

Atsu had been dealing with injuries prior to the tournament, and his selection for the squad had raised eyebrows due to his lack of playing time at the club level.

Grant spoke about Atsu's impressive performance at the tournament, where he won the best player award and the goal of the tournament accolade.

Ghana finished as runners-up, losing to Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout.

Grant praised Atsu's mental strength and character, saying, "It's a story that also shows his character and how strong he is mentally because I received the team very short time before the AFCON after the crisis in the World Cup in 2014 and he was not even on the list because he didn’t play half a year. The first half of the year he didn’t play, he didn’t find a team, partly because of injury."

Grant had taken notice of Atsu's talent during his time playing for Chelsea and in the Netherlands. Despite scepticism from others, he decided to include Atsu in the team and worked with Jamie Lawrence, the fitness coach, to prepare him for the tournament.

"So, we put him in a special program with Jamie Lawrence, the fitness coach to prepare him and I remember that I had a conversation with him, he said to me if you decide to take me, I don’t care if I play one minute or five minutes or 10 minutes. I’m a Ghanaian. I’m proud of my team and after what happened in the World Cup with the supporters don’t believe in us. I want to give my contribution.

Tragically, Atsu passed away in a recent earthquake in Turkey. Plans are currently being made for his funeral.