The first selection of Chris Hughton as Black Stars coach came without a representation from the Ghana Premier League.
In the 25-man squad announced on March 9, 2023, not a single player from the Ghana Premier League made the cut and stands a possibility of playing against Angola on March 23 and March 27.
The snubbing of local players is yet another blow for the Ghana Premier League which has been enjoying some bad press recently.
However, second deputy coach of the Black Stars, Mas-Ud Didi Dramani has explained the reason behind his boss’ decision to overlook the local players.
In an interview with Citi Sports, the former Kotoko coach discussed the importance of consistency and frequency of games in relation to Chris Hughton’s squad selection. He further cautioned against overstating the absence of local players in Hughton’s squad, as it could lead to negativity and detract from the attention paid to the local league.
He also emphasized their personal interest in the local league, stating that they attend many of the games. Regarding Hughton’s squad, Didi Dramani stated that the team’s consistency was key, and that they aimed to maintain that consistency even when local players were not invited.
“I think it goes with consistency and closeness of games. It is very important not to overstate that he (Chris Hughton) releases his squad and then no local player is in there. I think when we start doing that then I think we are pre-emptying on the negativities and I think that we are paying much attention to the local league as you can see me coming out to watch lot of the games,” he said in an interview with Citi Sports.
“When you look at the team, It is made of a consistent squad and we want to remain consistent when the decision not to invite any local player” “The Black Stars is a team in progress and so the team will continuously be consistent in their approach. The team is a work in progress and so what you find is actually what is needed at the shortest possible time. In the longest possible time, in this era, you need to look out for things that will give you immediate team structure, you don’t have time. The team is playing on Thursday and then on Monday so there’s no time for you to be thinking about processes where you need players to have the chance to have strong integration and then adaptation.
“This is the time to be thinking about who to bring and then immediately you are able to get what you need, there’s no time in this period. These periods are very short-lived so we need to acknowledge the importance of the timelines.
Ghana will play host to Angola on March 23 at the Baba Yara Stadium before the reverse fixture in Luanda on March 27.
The Black Stars lead Group E of the qualifiers with four points, followed by Angola who are also on four points before Central African Republic and Madagascar follow in that order.
