Oti reveals Appiah’s selection criteria

Coach Oti Akenten, technical director of the Ghana Football Association(GFA), has revealed that only workaholics, fully fit players with the right mental attitude  would make Coach James Kwasi Appiah’s squad for the 2014 World Cup.

According to him, Coach Appiah would also count on disciplined and  experienced players to do the job in Brazil.

In an interview with the Graphic Sports in Accra , Coach Oti Akenten called on soccer fans to eschew the tendency of piling pressure on Coach Appiah  to include particular  players in the squad, urging the  fans  rather to pray and offer the needed support to the coach in his quest to present a formidable team at the tournament.

“ Appiah’s  objective of travelling to Europe is to  interact with some  world class coaches and share ideas, as well as  monitor  the performance of the players,  interact with some of them  and explain the criteria for selection to the Stars squad,” he  explained.

On whether selection would be solely based on experience, he noted: “ Experience  could be a factor for selection, but it cannot be the sole  criterion for a player to meet the requirements of the coach.

“In fact, Appiah’s mission in Europe is not only to monitor players , but  also to ensure that such players are fully fit  and can measure up to the standard  of his work plans”, Oti Akenten streesed.

He said the tremendous support being offered by the government, the Ministry of Youth and Sports , the clergy and the ordinary Ghanaian would push the team to excel in Brazil.