Polley: Ghana needs Mourinho to reach 2018 World Cup

Former Ghana striker Prince Opoku Polley reckons the Black Stars chances of playing at the 2018 Fifa World Cup are all but over.

Five points adrift of leaders Egypt after matchday two, the West Africans no more have their destiny in their hands following a draw and a defeat to Uganda and the Pharaohs respectively.

In a bid to turn things around, Ghana Football Association is currently weighing up options for a new coach, amid public clamour for a local man.

"Where our qualifying matches have gotten to, we will need some luck before we can qualify for the World Cup in 2018,” Polley told Asempa Sports.

"[For us] to qualify for the World Cup in Russia, we need the likes of [Manchester United coach] Jose Mourinho to help us. However, I strongly believe that we can support our own, so he can help us develop our football locally.

"In our days, when a coach invites players to the camp of the Black Stars, we will have close to six players from our local league joining the team at camp."

Ghana's ministry of sports has shown a preference for an indigenous candidate, heightening speculations that former Black Stars coach James Kwesi Appiah is on his way to making a famous return.

"It is not late but let’s listen to what the government is saying because they are going to pay the coach every month, so I believe appointing a local coach will help us develop our football," Polley said.

"We saw what Kwesi Appiah did when he was appointed as the head coach of the team. He brought in some talented players but those players are gradually ageing, so we need to replace them and this can be done with a local coach.”

Ghana FA interviewed former France star Willy Sagnol over the coaching job on Friday, and reports say Uganda coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojevic, Hugo Broos of Cameroon and former Paris Saint-Germain coach Paul Le Guen are also under consideration.