During his introduction as the Black Stars coach on Monday in Kumasi, Chris Hughton promised to pay attention to the Ghana Premier League and other local competitions by watching more games.
Hughton received flak after selecting a 25-man squad for the 2023 doubleheader of the Africa Cup of Nations without any local players.
Hughton is adamant about dispelling the myth that earlier Black Stars managers ignored the domestic league in favour of players from abroad.
At his unveiling, he said, , “From the day that I’ve been involved with the association about one year ago I was made aware and stressed upon how important the local game is to the association and to the technical staff. So this time I’m very conscious of the local game.
And of course in my period of time[as technical advisor] so far we have had some players that made the squad from our local game so I certainly will not underestimate it. Where I think I can add value in my new role is that I will be spending more time in Ghana. I will be watching more games. I will attend more club games to know the league.”
“I am constantly being made aware of players that are doing well. The colts, the league structure and the teams that are doing well and certainly in my new role as head coach, I will be paying very much attention to not only the players that are doing well but the game here in general because I think it is important that any national team has a good national league. I’ll do my very best to make sure I see as much football here as possible,” he added.
The former Northern Ireland international has signed a contract until 31 December 2024 and is determined to make the Black Stars great again.
Hughton’s debut match is set to take place on Thursday, a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Angola at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.