Asante Kotoko goalkeeper Felix Annan has stated that qualifying for next season's CAF Confederation Cup serves as a motivation for them to win the Normalisation Committee's Special Competition.
In the aftermath of the Porcupine Warriors 1-0 win against Aduana Stars in the opening game of the Special Competition, supporters of the club criticized the team for not showing any drive as Aduana dominated the match.
Many suggested that the club's exit from the CAF Confederation Cup a fortnight ago played a significant factor in the disappointing performance.
But Annan, who captained the team on the day in the absence of Amos Frimpong, indicated that though they did not perform to their lofty standards, they are well motivated to win the competition in order to pick the sole ticket to represent the nation at next season's CAF Confederation Cup.
"We didn’t struggle but in life no matter what you do sometimes what you expect doesn’t come your way and you feel a bit down," Annan said.
"Truly speaking, when we went out of the Confederation Cup we weren’t happy about it but we were aware that we still have another opportunity to return to the competition so that alone is a motivation we the players have in the Special Competition because if we’re able to win it, we’ll go back to the Africa we were enjoying. This is a motivation."
"Today's game was not one of our best but I told the lads that the three points is the most important thing. In football sometimes you play and lose the three points and sometimes it’s vice verse so there’s still motivation as I pointed out."
Kotoko are sitting 2nd on the Zone A table with three points, same number of points as leaders AshantiGold but with inferior goal difference.