Inkoom's lack of games was the reason for his AFCON exclusion - Konadu

Published on: 18 December 2012

By Ameenu Shardow

Maxwell Konadu has confirmed the lack of first team action for Samuel Inkoom cost him a place in the Ghana squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Dnipro defender was not included in the 26-man provisional squad of the Black Stars for the tournament that kicks off early next year in South Africa.

Inkoom who has been a reliable right-back for the team in the past is yet to make a Premier League appearance for his club this season.

He has only played 26 minutes of Dnipro’s campaign this term in a Ukrainian Cup match.

The ex Asante Kotoko player’s lack of games at his club has seen an immense drop in his performance for the national team.

And this according to the assistant Black Stars coach amongst other reasons, was the motive behind his exclusion.

“(Samuel) Inkoom is one player the head coach really likes apart from everything, he likes the boy as a player,” he told Angel FM.

“He (Akwasi Appiah) however feels at the moment with what we have today, as compared to club performance to national team performance others are ahead of him.

“Let me put it straightforward, at the right back now we have John (Paintsil) and Afful (Harrison), if you count the number of 90 minutes they’ve had in the past 10 matches, certainly they are ahead of Sammy.

“And this is one major criteria used for the coach’s selection.”

The same rule however did not apply to Derek Boateng, who just like Inkoom, has hardly played coincidentally for the same club this season.

“It is not to say that playing regularly guarantees you a place. You can have a player who rarely plays for his club but his role in the national team cannot be ignored,” Konadu continued.

“Derek (Boateng) doesn’t get a look in at club level but his performance in the national team in recent games has been very vital.

“Not only that, his personality and leadership role is also very key, so we look at all these things before arriving at a decision.”

The 26-man squad will travel to Abu Dhabi for an intensive pre-Nations Cup camp.

It is during this period that three players will be dropped in order to reach the required 23-man squad for the tournament.

Ghana is drawn in Group B which will be based in Port Elizabeth alongside Mali, Niger and DR Congo.

The Black Stars open their campaign on January 20 against the Congolese at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

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