Soccer News of Saturday, 17 August 2013

Source: radioxyzonline

Akwasi Appiah's call is appropriate - Nii Odartey

Former Ghanaian International, Nii Odartey Lamptey, has backed Coach Akwasi Appiah’s call on his Black Stars players to fight for regular playing time at club level.

The Stars Coach told XYZ Sports in an exclusive interview last week that he expects an improved performance from his charges this season after seeing most of them warm benches last term.

Odartey Lamptey who won over thirty caps for Ghana, believes that the call will push the players to fight for regular playing spot in their teams.

“If you are handling the national team and most of your players are not getting action regularly, I think it’s a major worry. Gone are the days when Abedi Pele, myself, C.K. Akunnor, Tony Yeboah were all playing regularly in our teams and when we come to play for the national team, it wasn’t a problem for the Coach” he told XYZ Sports in an interview.

“It is obvious that last season most of our players struggled with playing time, which is a worry to any national team Coach. I am sure that the warning is to push the players to wake up and fight for regular action, so that they will cope with national team assignments” he added.

“I believe that they should be in good shape this time around because all the players have gone through rigorous pre-season with their clubs, and I hope that they will start the season well so that they can all help in our World Cup qualification”.

Ghana is pushing for a historic third straight World Cup appearance after being to Germany in 2006 and South Africa in 2010.