[ 2014-11-18 ]

Avram Grant to be Ghana coach by Wednesday
Ghana expect to have a deal in place for Avram
Grant to be their new national coach after their
final 2015 Nations Cup qualifier on Wednesday.
Former Chelsea boss Grant, 59, has been discussing
his financial package with the Ghana Football
Association (GFA).
There had been concerns his Israeli nationality
could pose access problems to some North African
countries.
GFA president Kwesi Nyantekyie told BBC Sport
"that is an issue" but says the two parties will
deal with it.
"The holder of an Israeli passport will not only
be denied entry into North African countries, he
will be denied into some Arab countries," he
said.
"He has brought an alternative way of dealing with
it. There is a satisfactory arrangement to arrest
his threat. Very soon, in a matter of months, we
should clear that."
Nyantekyie confirmed Grant has met with the GFA in
Accra and said it is "almost certain" the two
parties will reach a deal.
"By the time we finish with our game against Togo,
we should have an agreement in place," he said.
Grant will be given a two-year contract, and
Nyantekyie says the GFA is confident he has the
profile to succeed in the role.
"He is a motivator. He has the capacity and skill
to manage egos and top players and these are some
of the challenges that the Black Stars team is
going through.
"He has the strength, he has a strong mentality.
He feels in Africa most of the players lack the
passion or the mentality even though they have the
skill. We hope he will be able to instil these
qualities so that we will win trophies."
Grant took Chelsea to the final of the 2008
European Champions League, in which they were
beaten by Manchester United, and also had a
four-year spell in charge of Israel's national
side.
The Black Stars have been without a permanent
coach since Kwesi Appiah left after the opening
two 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with
Maxwell Konadu leading the team on a temporary
basis.
Ghana midfielder Andre Dede Ayew said: "If Avram
Grant comes to Ghana, we will support him. He is a
good coach, he has coached big clubs and hopefully
he will help Ghana.
"What is most important is that we win trophies -
and anybody that is going to bring trophies, I
will be with the person whether he is big, small
or whatever.
"If he is coming to Ghana, I know he will feel the
Ghanaian pressure, he will know that Ghana is a
country which needs to win because we have not won
a trophy in a long while."
Ghana missed an opportunity to qualify for the
2015 Africa Cup of Nations after losing 1-0 to
Uganda in Group E in Kampala on Saturday.
The group will be decided after the final round of
matches on Wednesday.

Source - BBC

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