No player is bigger than Ghana - Kwesi Appiah

Black Stars coach, Kwasi Appiah has revealed that his selection of players into the national soccer team is strictly based on merit.

And explaining why some players failed to make his list for the forthcoming AFCON qualifier against Kenya, he said the fact that a player did not make the Nairobi list does not mean the door is forever closed to that player.

He said his approach to selection of national team players is to ensure that no player conceives an exaggerated opinion about himself.

To him, fight for places in team breeds healthy competition and indicated that he has always believed in peaceful coexistence between coaches and players.

“We are building the team for 2019 and beyond and so the fact that a player is absent today doesn’t mean the door is perpetually closed to that player.

“I don’t think it makes sense for a coach to fight a player; players don’t give their best shots in such cases; it is neither here nor there for people to think a player is not in a team because there is tension between the coach and the player.

“I also believe players must fight for their jerseys; no player is bigger than Ghana. You will bear with me that we don’t have players who bluff the nation due to the fact that we have a lot of gifted players.

“Kwadwo Asamoah at a point pleaded with me to excuse him because he was losing his position at club level, hence his long stay away from the team, he is a good player and I think he will bring his rich experience to bear on the team,” said the coach.

He mentioned that the FIFA/CAF Liaison team will soon come up with the itinerary for the Nairobi trip.

Ghana is scheduled to play their Kenyan counterparts in an AFCON qualifier next month with notable players like, skipper Asamoah Gyan, the Ayew brothers-Dede and Jordan and Mubarak Wakaso missing from the list.