Accra, Feb 4, GNA - The Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), organisers of the pre-season Coca-Coal Top 4 soccer competition are expecting an improvement in the standard of play for the second round which gets underway on Sunday.

In an interview with the GNA Sports on his impression on the first half of the tournament which ended last Sunday, Mr Kudjoe Fianoo, Administrative Secretary of the Association said judging from the performance of the teams that saw them improving from match to match, the association was expecting a vast improvement over that of the first round.

He said the slump in standard so far is understandable since competition started just over a month after a hectic league season compared to the previous competition which started in late February, hence allowing the teams enough time to prepare for the competition.

"This year, the teams have not had enough time to prepare as the teams as the tournament came on just after the four weeks mandatory rest period by the football association as is the case after every league season", he added.

Mr Fianoo said the fall in standards could largely be attributed to the form of the two big teams: Hearts and Kotoko at the start of the tournament which was not all that impressive.

He said fortunately the teams are gradually coming up and showing their character and class, especially the big teams as it would take some doing to dislodge them from the two top positions.

Mr Fianoo said Alhaji Grunsah's King Faisal has impressed him the most with their brand of soccer so far which saw them rattling the nerves of Hearts with a draw at their backyard at the Accra Sports stadium and then proceeding to Kumasi to beat Kotoko by a lone goal. "Even with their surprise lone goal defeat at the hands of Liberty Professionals, nothing can be taken away from Faisal who have won the praise and respect of all football lovers".

For Liberty, Mr Fianoo said their performance could also be explicable having lost most of their first team players to other teams at the end of the season.

He admired the way they are gradually picking up the pieces after their dismal start where they lost two matches on the trot but managed to conjure an admirable set up to beat Faisal to throw the table wide open with every one of the teams having a shot at the ultimate.

Mr Fianoo said even with the slump, the table is still very open with every team having a chance of going to South Africa as there is only two points separating the first and last teams.

"In last year's competition, at the end of the first half stage, Olympics eventually finished last with no point but it looks like this tournament has the possibility of ending the dynasty of Kotoko and Hearts in such tournaments.

He said patronage has also dropped considerably and this could also be attributed to the bad publicity at the start of the tournament. "But I hope that with the anticipated improvement in performance the fans would come back in their numbers".

Mr Fianoo said the reduction at the gate proceedss has affected their estimated turnover but considering what the tournament went through before it got underway the sacrifice would be worth it. In terms of sponsorship, the Administrative Secretary said the sponsors are all pleased with the turnout so far irrespective of the early hitches.

He said to forestall any similar future occurrences again, GHALCA would ensure that the Ghana Football Association (GFA) sanction's the next competition and put it in its calendar to ensure that all teams who qualify are obliged to participate in the tournament.