<<Print>>

Football administrator, Jonathan Pobee Abbey, believes the clock is fast ticking regarding the decision to attach Black Stars coach, Kwasi Appiah, to a European club for a refresher course. With just about five months to the commencement of the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup, Mr Abbey thinks time is not on our side for the coach to be sent out to understudy an experienced European coach in order to build his confidence and improve his knowledge before the roll call in Brazil. Speaking to the Graphic Sports in an interview yesterday, the Neoplan Stars owner said Appiah�s trip to monitor the performance of his foreign-based players was misplaced since technology had made it easier to check player performance after each match. �His trip to monitor players was unnecessary because, for instance, Jose Mourinho has been with his Chelsea players throughout the season and is in a better position to assess Essien than Appiah who will be seating in the stands�, he said. He cautioned officials of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports not to wait till European clubs go on recess before flying out the coach for attachment, �because he will not get any practical lessons�. The outspoken football critic said what was required to upgrade Appiah to a top class coach could not be found in any part of the continent, except Europe, and that with the coach coming against world class coaches in Brazil, the earlier he was upgraded the better. Nonetheless, Abbey warned of dire consequences should a new manager be introduced to the technical bench of the Black Stars. �Bringing anybody on the bench now would result in confusion,� he said, urging those propounding the foreign coach theory to desist from it. �Appiah is capable of taking the team to the World Cup; all he needs now is to be upgraded and those who are calling for an expatriate coach to take the team to Brazil must stop�, the emphasised.