Crocked Ghana captain Mensah tips colleagues for success

By Patrick Akoto

Injury-prone Ghana captain John Mensah is backing his colleagues to win next month’s 2014 World cup qualifiers.

The 29-year-old has been ruled out of the double- header against Lesotho and Zambia due to a nagging injury that plagued his club career in the recently concluded season.

The centre played only once for  French Lique 1 outfit Olympique Lyon after aggravating a thigh injury during the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations defeat to eventual winners Zambia.

The former Sunderland defender is optimistic his colleagues can raise the bar in the two games.

“I’m sad for not being able to recover on time for these two crucial games,” Mensah said

“Though I won’t be part of the team to wage battle, I know the ‘can do’ spirit of the tea would make them victorious.

“Both teams are dangerous especially the Zambians but I believe it’s a fine opportunity for us to get our revenge over them.

“Coach Kwesi Appiah is new in this role but I know he would do well because of his excellent approach to the game as well as knowing the quality of players at his disposal.

“We the players have absolute confidence in him because he was with the team during the era of Milovan Rajevac and Goran Stevanovic.

“In football continuity is key and so I have no doubt he will excel,”