Appiah urges fans to keep faith with Black Stars

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah is confident his side will come good despite their friendly setback to Liberia on Tuesday.

The Black Stars followed up their impressive 2-0 home win in the qualifying for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations against Malawi with a loss away by the same margin to Liberia in a friendly.

Appiah, who's side had been impressive prior to the friendly in Monrovia is not too worried with the defeat as he looks at the larger picture of team development.

However, there have been claims that his team are losing their spark too quickly, something Appiah was quick to dismiss after the defeat to Liberia.

“The goals we conceded [against Liberia], it’s got nothing to do with the quality of the players or the systems,” the Black Stars coach told www.ghanafa.org.

“We paid for our mistakes, recovered well but we couldn't get the goals needed to turn around the game.”

“There was a lot of good that came from the game but we lost and we need to improve.”

And the Black Stars coach insists he remains encouraged by signs of progress he has witnessed, while emphasising the importance of giving new and untried players an opportunity.

“The Black Stars can only get better. This team cannot become bad overnight.

“Such games is a test of our judgements. Myself and the technical team get the chance to review our opinions on player selections in such games.

“Training with the players alone cannot be good enough to conclude that they are going to deliver, you need them in game situations. And this was a chance for us to see how our players react and the way we approach games.”

Appiah continues to infuse new players into his team but he says they are maintaining a sense of focus.

“Arguably we prepare to win every match we enter into. But we are going to give players the opportunity to prove themselves.

“Over time, I expect the same approach to every game. These are the kind of decisions that you’ve got to put in and take the flak for.

“The team cannot just be about 11 players. In the event of injuries or suspensions, we should be able to bring in equally good players who are ready for football at this level.

“I am very proud to be the coach of Ghana and I will fight to keep the Black Stars improving and moving forward,” he said.