I'm on national service with Olympics

Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie, head coach of Accra Great Olympics said his tenure with the "Wonder Club" was a national service in line with his avowed objective to develop the game at what ever level that he finds himself.

"I have proved my worth by being at four world cups and my achievements speak for themselves. My going to Olympics is a national service and I am happy to accept the challenge to rejuvenate the club which was once among the greats on the African continent," the coach told the GNA Sports.

He said an in-form Olympics would make the premier league more interesting and competitive and he has undertaken to change the fortunes of the team through a sound technical direction.

The coach said he was happy with the materials at his disposal at the club because "they are young and have great potentials and such players are easier to work with than those who consider themselves as big names," adding that the supporters and management members must be a bit patient to see the recovery.

Coach Afranie said he believed he could change the fortunes of Oly and get their supporters back to the stands when they play "because when they start playing well, the supporters will return."

He said though he was not at the club to organise justifiers, many new players have rushed to the training ground on hearing about his appointment resulting in a rise in enthusiasm and competition.

He said contrary to rumours that he accepted the offer to prove a point to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) officials who selected Bukhard Ziesse ahead of him for the Black Stars job, the coach said he had nothing to prove because he had proved everything there was to prove by building his curriculum vitae to where it is at the moment.

Coach Afranie said he considered his tenure as the caretaker coach of the Black Stars a great success because he played one competitive match against Rwanda in which the Black Stars broke their goal drought jinx by scoring four in a match.

"I used five home based players against Rwanda and we scored four goals and conceded two and my detractors said it was a bad result but in the Tunisian tournament where we had the full complement of our professional players, we scored a total of five and conceded same in the two matches we played."

He said his emphasis was on a youthful home-based squad that would blossom with time as he intended exposing them during the All African Games in Nigeria before the 2004 Athens Olympic Games qualifiers.

Coach Afranie said his application to coach the Black Stars was not a do or die affair and that he was not peeved for losing the opportunity to be the substantive coach, adding that he applied reluctantly on the last day due to pressure from his admirers.

He said though he left comprehensive notes for the incoming coach it would have been in the right direction if the G F A had arranged a meeting between him and the new coach.

"As the technical director of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports I remain a major stakeholder in Ghana football and I shall endeavour to contribute my quota in every way to ensure that our football moves forward," he concluded.