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Soccer News of Tuesday, 10 September 2002

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Foreign-based players let Me Down - Ziva

Black Stars coach Milan Zivadinovic says some of the foreign-based players he invited into the team to play against the Cranes of Uganda let him down in the match.

Ziva as the media calls him, says he relied on certain names to pull their weight when the going got tough on Saturday but the players exhibited wastefulness in the game.

In his assessment the 58-year-old Yugoslav maintains that the local players he used in the game including Hamza Mohammed and Joe Hendricks gave a better account of themselves than some of the foreign-based professionals.

The coach is contemplating dropping 30% of the foreign-based players he called up for the Ugandan game.

He told the BBC that losing on first match days should not be alarming and that he is at a familiar crossroads.

?I am not satisfied, believe me, I think next time I don?t call them. I know this situation, I need quality. If in these big names lies quality ok, I call him. But if he thinks he?s coming to play for the national team, Ghana, and that national team, Ghana is happy that this guy plays for the Black Stars, I don?t understand this situation".

?Only quality stays with me not big names. I think maybe 30% of this team who played today (Saturday), I don?t call them?.

Meanwhile the Black Stars arrived Monday night in Accra on a Kenyan Airways flight.

It is likely that three Kotoko players in the fold of the senior national team who were to meet with the team in Cairo will fly down with the Black stars.