Posted by Black Stars manager, CK Akonnor has debunked claims that player selection in the Black Stars is influenced by people in high authority.
Goals from Hamari Traore, El Bilal Toure and Amadou Haidara handed Ck Akonnor a 3-0 defeat on his Black Stars managerial debut against Mali on Friday.
The result and the performance has left a lot of football fans unimpressed, with majority questioning whether CK Akonnor has authority over the team or whether player selection is being influenced by people in authority.
In an interview with Asempa FM’s Patrick Osei Agyemang, popularly known as Countryman Songo and monitored by Ghanaweb.com, the former Kotoko gaffer refuted those claims. Insisting that he handed invitation to players based on merits and discussions with the technical team.
Here is how the interview unfolded
Songo: Are you yourself? Are you the one who select your players with no influence?
Akonnor: Of course I’m the one in charge of everything, I do it in the way I believe with my technical management. We sit down and discuss everything, this morning we’ve reviewed the match, what went wrong and what we did well.
Songo: So nobody influences your selection?
Akonnor: Yeah
Songo: You call players yourself?
Akonnor: Yeah. But why this question?
Songo: What is going on in Ghana is what I’m asking you.
Akonnor: Okay
Songo: Some people believe you are not yourself, that you’re influenced on who to call.
Akonnor: No, people can recommend players to me, it doesn’t mean I should invite the player. Sometimes the complaints Ghanaians make are right but it doesn’t affect how I work. It doesn’t mean people take decisions for me.