Kwesi Appiah: I Am Building A Team For The Future

Kwesi Appiah has an eye on battles to come in the months after the Africa Cup of Nations with the emergence of many youngsters in the Ghana team.

The Black Stars after missing the chance to win the African title will turn their sights to other matches with the 2014 World Cup qualifiers beginning later in the year.

Qualifying for the World Cup will be the next big task but Appiah, who took with him 10 debutants to the Nations Cup is relishing the future.

�I have had the national team for between 9-10 months now. I am building a team not for today but I think this team can develop for the future,� Kwesi Appiah told www.ghanafa.org.

Espanyol's Mubarak Wakaso, goalkeeper Fatau Dauda, Solomon Asante, Albert Adomah, Richard Kissi Boateng, Awal Mohammed and Rabiu Mohammed all stepped up in South Africa and showed that the transition was progressing smoothly.

�We�ve got so many youngsters in the team and they are now getting used to the competition. They are developing game by game.

�I had about ten players who had never been in such a competition before. I knew it wasn�t going to be easy in the initial games. Their confidence levels are rising and their performance is also picking.

�That�s the good part I have seen about my team,� the Ghana coach said as he spoke fondly about the contributions of his debutants.

While the Nations Cup debutants are likely to remain a part of Appiah's plans, there will be opportunities for other players while as expected of a dynamic team, some will drop in the pecking order.

However, Appiah is prepared to deal with the reactions of those who might not make his team at any given time.

�There are some of them that you have relied on for sometime, those ones, sometimes you will let him know that I am calling a team and you are not part of it this time.

�Most of the time, they don�t accept it but you need to carry on. At any time of the day, you need maybe 11 or 23 to go for a competition. Once the decision is a right one, you stick to it.

�You know when it comes to club level, in that instance its much easier because you have been with them for whole year. And in that aspect, you can deal with that situation.

�But when you are dealing with the whole nation and looking at the number of players we have got in Ghana, It�s impossible for you a coach to tell everyone that I would be calling you at this time or whatever.�

It�s not about being ruthless, says Appiah, who is very passionate about his commitment to having a very strong and competitive team that can last beyond just one competition.

�That is why you've got a technical team. You sit with them and discuss as to who you think should replace that player or the decision that you�ve taken, whether is the right one.

�And in most cases, once you know the decision you�ve taken in not calling a particular player but believe that those you�ve called in can perform almost the same duty, then if you feel your decision is right, you go with it.

�At the end of the day, you are the head, if it doesn�t go well, it�s your head. So you take it and bare the responsibility for it.�

Source: Ghanafa