Ghana coach proud of players despite setback

Coach Goran Stevanovic

Coach Goran Stevanovic remains proud of his team despite Ghana failing to achieve their target of winning the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Black Stars came fourth on Saturday after losing to Mali 2-0 in the third-place game at the Estadio Nuevo in Malabo.

The defeat followed their semi-final setback to Zambia last Wednesday.

Having started the tournament as one of the favourites, the fourth-place finish seems to have dimmed all their hard work but the Black Stars coach insists he's been buoyed on by the commitment of his players.

“I don't regret anything. I am very proud for the commitment of my players. We did a great job from January 7 [preparation for tournament] till now. We will need to sit and analyze, We are serious people," Stevanovic said after the game.

“Every game we dominated completely, especially the semi-final [against Zambia]. And that was a big problem for us because maybe, we did not recover enough after that game. We really wanted to be in the final.”

Stevanovic says it was difficult getting his players to perform at their maximum best.

“It was very, very difficult [motivating them],” he said.

“You can understand how we feel after this game [loss to Mali]. We really tried from the last two days to motivate the players and lift their moral but really it was very, very tough.

“But really, I am satisfied with the second half performance and effort of our players.”