Former Black Stars winger Laryea Kingston has suggested that Black Stars players may have lost all trust and respect for their captain Asamoah Gyan.

Kingston was speaking to Kumasi-based Ultimate FM about what could be the reason behind the recent slump of the team that saw them open their 2018 world cup qualifying campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Uganda.

Laryea Kingston was an integral part of the black stars team in the 2006 and 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign and played under the captainship of Stephen Appiah whose leadership skills remain exemplary.

But Kingston doesn’t think Gyan commands the same support from teammates, compared to the support Appiah received from his teammates.

“Leadership is very important in the team. As a leader, the people around you have to accept you. But at the moment, I don’t think the players accept their leader [Gyan] because sometimes on the pitch, you can even feel some negative energy towards him [Gyan],” Kingston told Ultimate FM.

“I’m not close to the team, but watching from afar, you can feel that something is not right. For example, during the Uganda game, I could feel Gyan didn’t stamp his authority.

“One instance he wanted to take a free-kick and another player took the ball from him. You had four or five players around the ball every time there’s a free-kick. That’s not right,” Kingston concluded.

Despite playing in two World Cup qualifying campaigns, Laryea Kingston has never played at the World Cup, missing the 2006 tournament through suspension, and dropped by then Black Stars coach Milovan Rajevac for the 2010 showpiece.

He played 41 times for the Black Stars, scoring 6 goals.