Kwesi Appiah must organize press conferences to explain call ups – Augustine Arhinful

Former Ghana forward, Augustine Arhinful has recommended that the handlers of the Black Stars institute press conferences to afford the Black Stars coach, Kwesi Appiah a platform to explain his reasons for selections into the team.

Augustine Arhinful in an interview with GhanaWeb TV suggested that the organization of press conferences will bring an end to some of the rumours and criticisms that characterize Black Stars call-ups.

“In as much as I’m not the head coach of the team, if I were then I could tell you the reasons as to why I selected player A or player B. I believe that going forward, what the coach or technical men should do is anytime inviting players, they should organize a presser to give reasons why they are inviting Kwesi and not Kwame. Because it is done in Europe. It should not be that each time the coach brings his list out, we either critic it or sit somewhere and say that he’s done so well. He says he is building a team so we should give him the support”, Arhinful said.

Arhinful’s comment comes on the back of the backlash Kwesi Appiah has received following his decision to drop certain players, particularly Asamoah Gyan and the Ayew brothers from the squad that lost to Kenya last Saturday.

Coach Kwesi Appiah ahead of the game defended his decision citing issues of commitment as a probable cause for his actions.

“If a player says he’s not well or he is injured and won’t be available for a particular match, it is my job to make sure there is another player available to fill the void. I have never had any problem with anybody. The national team is not for me; it’s for Ghana.

“I keep saying that nobody is bigger than Ghana and I’m looking for players who are committed and ready to kill themselves for the nation,” Appiah concluded.

The loss on Saturday has heightened calls for the return of the three players with some Ghanaians saying that the defeat could have been avoided if the three players were present in the team.

Reports went viral on Monday that coach Kwesi Appiah was ready to meet the three and set guidelines for their return to the teams. The reports have however been quashed by the former Al Khartoum boss who has been charged with winning the 2019 AFCON for Ghana.