Former Ghana international Sam Johnson has advised head coach of the Black Stars Charles Kwabla Akonnor not to be influenced in his call-ups in his subsequent matches.
The Black Stars were engaged in two international friendlies against Mali and Qatar which were CK Akonnor’s first two games in charge of the team.
Akonnor lost his first game by 3-0 to Mali and then responded with a 5-1 victory over Asian champions Qatar in his second game on Monday.
The former Asante Kotoko coach faced some serious criticism following that humiliating defeat to Mali in his first game. Akonnor was criticized for omitting most of the core players who formed the team under former coach Kwasi Appiah as his call-ups were dominated by new players.
According to Sam Johnson, most of the new players invited by CK Akonnor have the potential but are not yet ready to play for the Black Stars.
He advised CK Akonnor to prune the current squad and blend it with some of the experienced players if he wants to compete for honours.
“I don’t think this current crop of players are ready for the pressure that comes with playing for the Black Stars. CK Akonnor should not allow anybody to influence him in his next call-up”, he told Ohene-Bampoe Brenya on Happy Sports on Happy 98.9FM.
