Francis McCarthy, a striker for FC Nania, has opened up about the challenges of playing under the watchful eyes of legendary Ghanaian footballer Abedi Ayew Pele.

McCarthy, who plays for the Ghana Division One club owned by Abedi Pele, spoke about his experience in an interview with Accra-based radio station, Radio Gold.

According to McCarthy, joining Nania made him realize that his personal training at home was not enough to be truly fit. McCarthy explained that one has to exceed his limits to play under Abedi Pele.

He stressed that if a player couldn't meet Abedi Pele's standards of intensity and running, they wouldn't be able to play.

“The maestro doesn’t joke with his team. Whatever that man is, is true his dedication and toughness. I felt I was fit because I was training at home personally [but] when I joined Nania, I realized that I wasn’t fit at all. If you are supposed to run for one hour, you have to run for 120 minutes under Abedi Pele. You have to do it if you really want to play you have to do it," the player stated.

“Sometimes we players we deceive ourselves, you know are not there, forget what people say. Watch yourself, deep down in your heart are you ready to play? If you cannot run like he [Abedi Pele] wants definitely you cannot play," he added.

“I wasn’t fit to play initially when I came because the intensity he wants in his game is not a joke.” Francis McCarthy noted.

McCarthy was crucial for Nania last season. He scored 10 goals and provided 4 assists in 19 appearances, earning six Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards.

McCarthy's football journey began at Leeds United, now known as De Gunners FC, and he also had a spell with second-tier side New Generation FC before joining Nania.

/KPE