By Ameenu Shardow
Former Ghana international Augustine Arhinful has rallied support for new Black Stars coach Akwasi Appiah.
Appiah was on Monday appointed as the substantive replacement for Serbian Goran Stevanovic after weeks of head hunting.
The settling on the 51-year-old by the Ghana FA came as a surprise to many despite his familiarity with the team as an assistant coach since 2008.
Details of his terms of service and duration of his contract are yet to be made public but the ex Black Stars captain has already stated his preparedness to take up the mantle.
He has thus asked for support from all angles – one he will be getting plenty off at least from his former national teammate.
“This is what we have been all longing for. We all wanted to see one of our own as national team coach so I think its about time,†Arhinful told Takoradi-based Melody FM.
“We should all now put our weights behind him and then pray and hope that the team becomes successful under him.
“He has the respect of all the players, he had always had that respect.
“He should approach the team based on his own ideologies and philosophies of the game.
“He is now the head coach and therefore must be tough in his decisions for he is no longer an assistant coach.â€
Appiah will be officially unveiled as the new Black Stars coach at an organized press conference on April 17 in Accra.