The head coach of reigning Premier League champions Asante Kotoko, Mas-Ud Dramani says the presence of most of his players in Ghana’s Championship of African Nations (CHAN) squad will help the Local Black Stars excel in South Africa later this month.

Asante Kotoko had as many as 8 of its players named in the final 23-man squad ahead of the 2014 CHAN tournament.

Dramani told footy-ghana.com that the 8 Kotoko players in the squad can make a difference, as Ghana fights for honours.

“It is good we have dominated with 8 players. It shows that our team has very good players who can excel at different levels. The Ghana team has not been together for a long time and that will be the problem but if you have 8 players from one particular club dominating a national team then I think is great for the coach and the team.”

Dramani also told footy-ghana.com that if Local Black Stars head coach Maxwell Konadu is able to find a suitable blend of players, Ghana could progress well during the tournament, noting that the selected players from Asante Kotoko could help Konadu win honours.

“He can even rely mostly on those players and add some few ones whom he thinks can do the job for the team. We saw the performance of most of them in the WAFU Tournament and they were not all that bad. If Maxwell is able to blend them well he can get the needed results. I know my boys and I personally know what they can do for the team. They can indeed make a difference in the tournament.”

The home-based national team is currently camping in Windhoek, Namibia for their pre-competition preparations ahead of the CHAN Tournament.

Ghana is in Group C with Libya, Ethiopia and Congo for the tournament reserved for only home-based players of member nations.

The 16-nation tournament will kick-off on 11 January and finish on 1 February 2014.