Ghana coach CK Akonnor has told home-based players to show tremendous improvement or forget about national team call-ups.
Akonnor is not ready to hand out invitation to stars performers of the Ghana Premier League on a silver platter as they face competition from the foreign legion.
In his first squad as Black Stars coach, the ex-captain included four locally-based players in his 23-man squad to face Sudan in a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier double-header.
''This also goes to the local players. They must up their game so that we can have that good blend between locals and foreign,'' Akonnor said at Tuesday's press conference.
''We want to try as much as we can to bridge the gap between the professionals and the local players.''
Akonnor knows much about the strength of the Ghana top-flight having handled five clubs Eleven Wise, Hearts of Oak, Dreams FC, AshantiGold and Asante Kotoko.