U-20 World Cup winner, Andre Dede Ayew feels it is time to bring Stephen Appiah back to the Black Stars not as a player but a backroom staff and his presence will help the team to win the AFCON.

Stephen Appiah became the first ever captain to send Ghana to its ‘first ever World cup in Germany 2006 and subsequently to South Africa 2010.

He was a member of the managerial staff during the World Cup in Brazil 2014 when they failed to go out of their Group D, losing two games and drawing 2-2 with eventual winners Germany.

“I feel Stephen Appiah has done a great deal for his country and we the younger ones have learnt a lot from him, he must be brought back to the team and I believe he will help us win the AFCON,” Andre Ayew said.

“When I got into the team in 2007, Appiah was the captain of the team and he adopted me like a little brother and he taught me a lot together with former Ghanaian striker Baffour Gyan.

“Seeing him together with current captain of the team Asamoah Gyan and John Mensah helped me a lot and am still learning from them. “I will be forever grateful to them and I feel it’s time to bring him back into the team.

"Ghana still needs Appiah if we want to win the nations cup, Appiah’s presence will help a lot,” Andre Ayew added.

Dede Ayew played a key role in Ghana’s squad in Equatorial Guinea but lost out on penalties to Ivory Coast. Gabon will host the next edition of the AFCON 2017 as the black stars will be looking forward to winning the cup.