Satellites will overcome Senegal — Coach Dramani

Coach Didi Dramani, head coach of the national U-20 football team, the Black Satellites, is optmistic that his team will qualify for the 2017 Africa Youth Championship despite the odds ahead of their crucial qualifier against Senegal at the new stadium in Cape Coast on Friday.

The young Terenga Lions of Senegal hammered the Satellites 3-1 in Dakar nearly two weeks ago with a team that midfielder Yaw Yeboah described as very “intimidating” in terms of their physique

But Dramani has assured Ghanaians that qualification to the next Africa Youth Championship in Zambia would not elude his team.

He has, therefore, urged Ghanaians in an interview on Tuesday, to remain calm as he had mapped out some strategy to see off the Young Lions.

Conceding that the game would be a difficult one, the former Kumasi Asante Kotoko coach said: “We have done it before and there is no way we cannot do it again this time”, expressing the hope that their approach was going to work.

He refused to disclose the strategy that he would adopt for the game but expressed confidence that his team would score the two goals needed to overturn the 3-1 deficit.

Coach Dramani said his only challenge was about releasing his players to play in today’s Premier League matches, blaming his first defeat on the non-availability of   Medeama players due to thier CAF Confederation Cup engagement.

On the team’s motivation, the coach said he had done his part as a technical head to encourage the players to win but the financial aspect was for the authorities to discharge.

“Whoever is responsible for financial motivation knows it and must do it. The coach is only responsible for implicit motivation” , he added.