‘Ghana does not have enough experience to end AFCON drought’ – John Paintsil
Former Black Stars defender, John Paintsil, has expressed his concerns about Milovan Rajevac’s final 28 man squad for the AFCON which begins on Sunday in Cameroon.
The veteran believes the squad does not have enough experience to end Ghana’s 40-year wait for another Africa Cup of Nations trophy.
Rajevac trimmed his provisional 30 man sqaud to 28 as his final squad for the upcoming tournament on Monday with youngster Felix Afena-Gyan of AS Roma and Clermont Foot’s Salis Abdul Samed being the two players to be dropped.
Ghana’s squad features vast experienced players who have had the opportunity to play in two or more AFCON tournaments with the likes of Jonathan Mensah, Mubarak Wakaso, Jordan Ayew, Andre Ayew, Abdul Baba Rahman.
However, Paintsil still is of the belief that the experience in the squad is not enough to secure Ghana a fifth AFCON title in Cameroon.
Read: Milovan names final 28-man squad for AFCON 2021
“When he came in 2010, we were masters of our own and we were only taking instructions. But now that generation is not there. When you look at the team now, we only have Jonathan Mensah and Dede Ayew, which is not enough for any coach,” the former defender said.
“Milo [Rajevac] came because he loves Ghanaians and he knows the players will deliver for him. In some cases, no coach would have come and taken the job in such a crucial moment because it is Ghana we are talking about, a football-loving country.
“I said it was a crucial and wrong time because of the players he was coming to meet – players who had never been together, who had never played so many matches as a team, thinking that they had quality as a team but only quality as individuals, it was going to be difficult for him.
“But in all, if you look at what he has done in for the short period, it tells you that he is a great coach.”
Ghana as part of preparations for the tournament will play Algeria in a friendly match on Wednesday before jetting off to Cameroon for the tournament which kicks off on January 9.
The Black Stars are in Group C alongside Morocco, Gabon and Comoros and will kick-start their quest for a trophy in the last 40 years when they face Morocco on Jan. 10 at 4pm.
