Ghana coach Otto Addo as refused to be haggard into the wild debate on the illegal mining issue, fiendishly named as galamsey.
According to Otto Addo the team have to focus first on their must win Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) doubleheader against Sudan.
The German trained tactician was answeing questions from the media during the announcement of his 25-man squad for the qualifiers on October 10 in Accra and Libya on October 15.
Addo recognized the negative effects of illegal mining but was quick to knock-off calls for national team players to make their opinions public against galamsey during the upcoming international fixtures.
“We have a lot of issues already; to be honest, it’s a very serious problem, but we have to do our jobs,” Coach Otto Addo brushed off the idea.
“There are a lot of things which have distracted us, even myself, also I was questioning myself what I could have done better. Maybe, if I had an accident, there is nothing I can do about it. But there are already many other distractions within the team, so to be honest, we are focusing on Sudan and nothing else."
Ghana, having a single point under their sleeve after two qualifying matches and trailing their Group F leaders Angola by five points, as well as second-placed Sudan by two points in the qualifiers.
However, racking up good results against Sudan is very crucial to Ghana’s qualification hopes for the competition that the national team has not failed to qualify for since 2004.
Coach Otto Addo stands on his credence that the Black Stars will come good against what he admitted as a good side.
“We have been in difficult situations before. I faced a lot of negativity before my first appearance here, but when I came, we played against Nigeria and we qualified. Then when I came back for the second time, also a lot of negativity and difficult situations, we played against Mali and we won,” he implied.
“We are in the same difficult situation, but to be honest, I hate to lose, and I was also very disappointed after the Angola and Niger games, but losses or disappointments are part of football so we must have a winning spirit all the time, not just when we play against Nigeria, Mali or whoever.
“It has to be there against every team, and this was missing in the last game, it’s surely my responsibility to put the players on their toes because whether we win or not it’s their responsibility on the pitch but of course, I have to select the right players and ensure I direct them to win for Ghana and we will do that against Sudan,” he concluded.
By: Pascal Amoah
