‘I’m not 100%’ – Dede Ayew praises Atsu

Olympique Marseille star Andre Ayew is counting the positives from his performance on his return to national team duty, insisting that he is not fully fit yet.

Ayew’s return to competitive action for the Black Stars since the 2012 Cup of Nations lasted 70 minutes as Ghana beat Malawi 2-0 in final round first leg qualification for the next tournament. Dede was generally low-key and had minimal impact on play but reveals his delight to be back and had praise for young star, Christian Atsu.

“I’ve been out for four months and just came back to full training, I’m not 100% yet. I’m coming up bit by bit. We spoke with the coach already before the game that I will not play 90 minutes. You can see that the game was not easy for all of us, we had to concentrate,” Dede told 90 MINUTES after the game.

The Paris Saint Germain target was however pleased with the hard-fought win. “Everyone has just finished pre-season and even though we are not playing to our top level now, we managed to get the much needed win and that’s the most important thing,” Dede explained.

Keen to lead another Ghana assault on the African Cup as the quest to end the now over 30 year wait for silverware extends to South Africa 2013, Dede insists the Black Stars will work hard to seal qualification in Malawi in just over a month’s time. “I want to congratulate all my teammates for a hard-fought victory and hopefully we’ll go to Malawi and ensure qualification,” Dede said.

He continued: “(Christian) Atsu played very well and has a bright future ahead of him if he continues to play like that. I was happy for him because he knows how to take on defenders and everyone should watch out for him.”

Ayew is also positive for the second leg in Blantyre.

“Malawi have shown that they can be tough physically, but I know we will be ready for them when we go there,” Dede assured.