Ghana coach Avram Grant feels vindicated after unknown Kwesi Appiah excelled at AFCON

Ghana coach Avram Grant feels vindicated after striker Kwesi Appiah excelled at the just ended 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

The former Chelsea manager received a lot of criticisms for naming the then untested player in his provisional squad for the tournament.

Appiah, who plays for English fourth division side Cambridge United, made the cut for the tournament after Majeed Waris picked up an injury and was unable to join their pre-tournament camping.

The 24-year-old made a huge impact in Equatorial Guinea as he was named Fair Player for the tournament.

He was scored on his competitive debut and provided an assist as Ghana beat Guinea 3-0 to reach the semi-finals and picked the man of the match award.

Although Grant described the protestations for including the player in his squad as normal, he wants Ghanaian fans to respect his decisions since they are meant to help the Black Stars' course.

“I understand that when you take someone people don't know, it's very obvious that people will put question marks,” the Israeli trainer said.

“I've nothing against them, I understand it and I've understood it all my life. But in this case I want to advise people especially the Ghanaian people because the Ghanaian people are very close to my heart.

“Give the players time and then judge. If you have question marks, wait a little bit. I remember there were question marks when Cristiano Ronaldo went to Manchester United, nobody liked him in his first year except Alex Ferguson.

“Kwesi Appiah is not Ronaldo and other players are not, but sometimes I feel people need to wait and all journalists that have listened to that advice have become even better journalists. To criticize a player after just one game that is not right even for a journalist.

“To have question marks about Kwesi Appiah or Amartey is okay, its reasonable and I accept it. But to kill him even before he makes one training is not acceptable.

Grant is calling for a symbiotic relationship between the players and the fans to create a harmonious environment.

“I think the people of Ghana need to hug the players like they are doing now and the players need to show the people that there is a reason why they can hug them,” he added.

“This is my advise, be patient a little bit .After one game don't make a player a super star and don't kill anyone after one bad game. Now the tournament is over and we can know who was a good player and who was not.”