Akunnor: Local players the key

Black Stars captain C K Akunnor says the future of the senior national team lies with the local players.

The player has just been voted the new captain of Bundesliga club DSV Wolfsburg for the upcoming season and was introduced to fans as the club's first black captain.

In an interview the 28-year-old said that only a few foreign based players are needed at any given time to represent the country.

He noted that home-based players tend to be more at home when playing qualification matches in Africa and added that coach Osam Doudo's coaching policy at the moment should have been adopted a long time ago.

He denied turning his back on the team when the going got tough saying he had a serious shoulder and back injury, which needed weeks of therapy to heal. Akunnor hopes to be fully fit before the start of the new season and denied reports that he was about to quit the national team.