The caretaker coach of the senior national team, the Black Stars of Ghana, Osam Duodu, has urged the Ghana football Association to give him a working contract which would put him in charge of the team as has been suggested by the Youth and Sports minister.
Speaking to the GNA, Duodu said he fully supports the Vice President's call for the use of local coaches for the Stars and urged the authorities to support any local coach in the same way as they do for foreigners who handle the national team.
Duodu has been taking care of the stars since the exit of Italian Guessepe Dossena without any contract specifying terms under which he is taking up that position. On the preparation of the stars for their next encounter in the coming Africa and World cup qualifiers in January, the coach said he has lined up a friendly match either against Togo or Cote d'Ivoire in January before their CAN 2002 qualifier against Congo DR in Kinshasa.
"Even though we are still talking to the Football Associations of both countries, the Togolese have expressed their willingness to play and I am sure this match would definitely come on".
The Black Stars who are currently on top both of their groups in the African and world cup qualifying series, have two important matches in January, first against Congo and then Lone Stars of Liberia in Accra in two weeks time.
"I will have most of the foreign based players around by that time since they would be on winter break and would have enough time to train".
He said "selection will not be a big problem to me; I have a very good working relationship with the players and the first thing I plan doing is to let them know that it would not be possible for all of them to be playing regularly but that they will all have their chances since there are a lot of matches lined up".
On the future of players like Joe Addo in his team, Duodu emphasised that his doors are not shut to any player as people are claiming; "I am prepared to accept any player who is disciplined and is prepared to be coached."
"I would like to beef up the technical staff also since at the moment Jones Attuquayefio, my assistant, is very busy with Accra Hearts of Oak." He said Jones would remain his assistant or even pushed to a higher office since he has a very good working relationship with me and is one of the best hands around.
Duodu urged Ghanaians to dispel the notion that local coaches are not in tune with modern coaching techniques saying: "we constantly undertake refresher courses to update our knowledge on the game."
Surprisingly, a report in the front page of 'Graphic Sports' newspaper on Friday, said Attuquayefio has been made the coach of the senior national team. It said "a high-level meeting of some stakeholders in Ghana football last Wednesday took the firm decision to appoint Hearts technical director, Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, head coach of the senior national team, the Black Stars.
"By the formula reached at the meeting, and disclosed by the GFA (Ghana Football association), Mr Osam Duodu who filled the void in a caretaker capacity, reverts to his supervisory role at the Technical Directorate of the GFA, under which the new Black Stars coach would work."
