Head coach of the Ghana national team, Annor Walker says the team is not fixated on Ghana’s previous run in previous TotalEnergies African Nations Championship tournaments, but his side is fully focused on this year’s edition which they have control over.
The Black Galaxies coach was speaking from the Chahid Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine, where Ghana will officially kick off their CHAN campaign against debutants, Madagascar on Sunday evening, at 20h00 GMT.
The west African giants come into the tournament as one of the strong contenders of the competition, having reached the finals twice during the 2009 and 2014 editions respectively.
Asked on whether he believes this current squad can go all the way and lift the trophy that has eluded them at the last hurdle on two occasions, Walker said he does not want to put pressure on his players by reminding them of previous results but wants his side to focus on doing well and making Ghana proud.
“We have seen what the previous squads have done, and it is truly remarkable. However, the past is behind us, and we are looking forward to what is here in front of us, which we have control over. We are looking forward to getting to the finals and yes lifting the cup. With that said, we are not thinking of the past, but we are thinking of the present and what is ahead of us,” said Walker.
The coach also touched on the exciting talent and diversity of the squad that he has assembled for the tournament, saying that people will see what the rest of the clubs in Ghana have to offer in so far as local talent is concerned.
“I have players who are playing in Division 1 of Ghanaian football that I have included in the squad. I did not only select players from the big clubs as many people expected. From looking at the squad, we can safely say it is represented by at least ten different clubs from Ghana, which is why I believe this tournament is important in that, it exposes local talent for the world to see”, concluded Walker.
The coach was joined by his captain, Gladson Awako, who said the team had prepared well ahead of tomorrow’s clash and that the confidence in the camp is quite high amongst the squad.
“We are here to compete. No one goes into a competition to lose. We are confident and looking at the camp, each player is looking good and confident. Our preparations have gone very well, and we played two competitive friendlies in Egypt as well as here in Algeria to fine-tune our preparations. If we carry on with the same momentum, I think we should have a good tournament”, said Awako.
