Outdoored head coach of the black stars Chris Hughton has reiterated his support to the Ghana premier league by spending more time in Ghana to watch the Betpawa premier league games.
According to him, the the Ghana football Association has persistently been drawing his attention to the local league and its relevance to the national team. He said he will be attending club games to scout for players for the national team and contribute positively towards the betterment of the league.
His comment comes after he was quizzed on his plans for the Ghana league following the omission of the local players from the squad he named to compete in the African cup of nations qualifying campaign.
Hughton said he will pay keen attention to the Ghana premier league to inform his decisions especially when it comes to player selection to the national team.
He spoke in an interview with the media during his unveiling ceremony in Kumasi.
“I have been involved with the Association for almost one year and I was made aware how important the local game is to the association. and so as this is technical stuff I am very conscious of and so in my period of time we have had local players that have made it to the squad, so I certainly will not underestimate [ the local league]. Well I think I can add more value in my new role and I will be spending more time in Ghana watching more games. I will be attending more club games to know the league far better than I was given and the only reason I was not doing that is because our concentration was very much on the world cup campaign,” Hughton said.
Hughton elaborated that he is conscious of the local league and its significance to the national team hence he will do his best to keep keen eyes on the local league.
“I am constantly being made aware of the local league, the structure and the teams as well. In my new role I will pay much attention to not only the players that are doing well but the game in general. I think it is important that any national team has a good national league and I will do my very best to see as much football here as possible,” Hughton reiterated.
Following the terrible performance of the black galaxies team in the CHAN tournament in Algeria when they failed to qualify from the group stage, the local players have come under immense criticisms for putting up a poor display. Many believe this might be a contributing factor to the absence of the local players in Chris Hughton’s maiden call-up to the black stars. It remains to be seen whether the black stars coach will heed to his claims regarding the Betpawa premier league.
