Appiah calls out on Ghana FA for 'extra' help
The Black Stars coach has shed light on how difficult it is to motivate players ahead of crucial games.
Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has reiterated the need for a psychologist in his backroom staff as he bids to raise a strong squad capable of winning trophies in the future.
The 57-year-old took over from Avram Grant in July, in his second coming as the head coach and despite having two assistants, he is without a psychologist to morally prepare his players ahead of games.
Prof. Joseph Mintah, who performed the role in the past, saw his mandate not extended after Grant left.
“We don’t have a team psychologist and so we try to psych the players [ourselves] and let them feel at home," Appiah told Happy FM.
“But psyching a player to feel very prepared for games takes time and the player has to put what he has grabbed in games and show what he has for the crowd.
“When you put a new team together and they play at home, there are times they will panic if they are not able to get an early goal. The team's psychologist has to play a role in this but the team has no psychologist as I'm talking now [and I think we need one], he added”.
Appiah could not guide Ghana to qualify for the 2018 Fifa World Cup but has been tasked to win the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, in order to end the country's wait for a major silverware since 1982.