PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW WITH BLACK STARS COACH OTTO ADDO AHEAD OF AFCON QUALIFIER AGAINST NIGER

[Music] we start with team news coach what can you tell us in terms of team news um which players are in Camp and which players couldn't make the trip um yeah we had uh some few issues and um little little injuries and but I think they're mostly okay um except Jerome um I think you he had serious back problems um um I think um his Budd didn't couldn't adapt with the with the ground to the training ground in Kumasi was very difficult for him so he had problems in training and at the end now it was so serious that he couldn't train and um so he had to go back now um to get special treatment um from his Club um yeah it's a Pity he didn't play but yeah got injured and um yeah got back now so he will be out for this game and then also um Joseph pensil um there's some issue with this with his traveling um with work work permit for the US for that he has to go to the US Embassy um and the procedure takes some days and um because he we will need his passport when he wanted to come to Morocco we couldn't take him there we were hoping that he will finish everything e um fast in the the US Embassy but like I said I think it takes more than three four five days um and he had to do it because otherwise he couldn't return to his Club in the US so both of them won't be available how much of a miss or how big of a Miss do you think that will be um to your team yes Joseph came on as a St Jerome didn't play but the Dynamics in that game is totally different from what you hope to see tomorrow yeah at the end of the game day uh each and every game everything anything can happen I think Joseph had a good game when he came on um created a lot of chances had also some chances and um at the end with Jerome he would have been an option um um he's tall he has a very good foot good technique and um you never know um if anything happens or what happens he would be there and um depends on the Dynamics of the game but um I me as a coach I would always like to have any options uh I would have a left footed like to have a left footed uh Defender right foot it um every position should should be should be doubled up and um this is I think the the perfect scenario but at the moment it's not like that and um but yeah this is how it is sometimes and we take at that we have happy to have other um substitutions on the bench tomorrow and um whoever will play um um the bench will be good coach between Thursday from your last game up until now we just a few hours to the second G group um what have you been working on with your with your players in terms of getting them much ready mentally ready um for for the next G yeah everybody was down so I think the first part was surely mentally that um I was down myself after the match but um the next day um yeah I had a lot of positive feedback from friends from Family um also from some some press guys and also the the press conference after the game um showed me that we didn't play Bad um was really really unlucky game and um this gave me um this positive sign gave me confidence and this is the confidence I was yeah trying to give to the team the last days and I think um work work quite well um the guys look good at the training and um surely there were some things defensive wise but also offensive wise which we had to work on and we tried to implement it in our training as far as we could um surely um um not all of them could do everything because of the recovery after the game um but at the end of the day now I think we we're ready for tomorrow and being ready to you're looking ahead to a response from from the defeat we lost to Angola home Nigeria lost to Sudan um away and we are playing next you know here in Morocco and going into games like this is always problematic with a lot of challenges because they do not want to lose again and you also don't want to fter again um does does this make the game more difficult than it would have been because if you are come from a winning position you would have def because you are coming from a losing position and they also coming from a S position does it make it extra difficult um I think only the only thing is from the psychological point of view um for sure and but the end at the end of the day um even if we would have won against Angola we would have come here to to win and this for sure um this game we surely the favorites and um um yeah I'm very very confident that we win this game but in football anything can happen and we saw it last time against Angola um and the way the the the game looked I would never thought that we lose this game but in football now there's no weak opponent so we have to be focused we have to be concentrated we have to do our job and then the probability that we win is very very high you spoke about the margins when the draw was made the quality of Sudan the quality of Angola the kind of players they have presently and then you also touched on N specifically they may not be the favorites but they are losing games narrowly and that makes it a bit difficult play against them do you still stand by that you know with just a few hours to absolutely absolutely and um we observed them we had a we watched a lot of Watch games that they play and they look strong they have good good players in their in their team and um they play together as a team um like I said they they had some losses but it was all always very very close and they also had their chances um so we have to be aware of that and that they they have good Strikers um um they they they defend very well tactically they they're well educated so it's not going to be easy but I'm sure that if we do our best if we can create as much chances as in the last game against Angola um the the we will force the luck to come back to us the weight of expectations I'm sure your your players have come under criticisms and what have you within the last 3 days on the back of them defe um and a few of them and were actually targeted by supporters fans and what I mean from your level as as a manager on the side how difficult has it been trying to get them off those sentiments and emotions to bring their mind back onto yeah I think they they fully focused they have experienc this in their life often more often um also happens at Club level even when I was a player we played with Dortmund against the fourth division team and we lost in the cup game so anything can happen and um this is football but um I think that's also the reason why they're there where they are um you have to be fast in your head you have to be confident even though sometimes um you make mistakes or things go wrong um but that's why they are professional they recover fast from these things and I think everybody's waiting now for Monday or for tomorrow to come because to show and to to show an reaction and to show that we are still there even though we lost against Angola um we we we are looking forward to to Monday to to yeah to let's say go or the players especially to go home to the CLS before win a few Dynamics have have come to play against m w late against Central African Republic to the lead conceded back didn't have a grp finish won um after that thir goal we were able to hold our breath and won by four gos to three then again G up late in the game we considered and lost um from these scenarios how would you describe your team different personalities different selections sometimes you have not been consistent because you have not been lucky to have players being available from point you know in terms of injuries and abenes and what have you do do these things play on your mind not really I think we have a like let's say a bigger Squad from 30 40 players which have uh uh yeah performance level which will always keep us at a certain level um and um we have to deal with with with injuries and everything this shouldn't be a problem surely it's not easy but it's the same for the other teams so um I don't want to actually go on that I know it's um always difficult um to to win I think they the the last game showed that there's no easy match um I think we we learned especially from the first two that anything can happen and everything is possible if you believe and if you keep going and um yeah also like the bench is so important you know players from the bench can decide a game yeah and um surely I think we we talked a lot about adola we we we yeah hopefully learned our lesson and um um and again to take out the positive things that we played really well and we created a lot of chances and uh it's now time and we worked also on that on finishes and how to be a little bit more clinical um and it's time to to to show it on the pitch now and was a lot of talking surely uh the last days and a lot of also negativity which is normal when you lose and um yeah it's a big big chance for us tomorrow to to win this game and um prove um negative meanings about players or whatever or the coach or whatever wrong okay finally you said the opportunity is here for for you to what what what of response do you expect from these um at the end of the day um by yeah I'm very very pretty sure that we will play well we showed it the last time as well and now we we need the results this is just very important this is crucial um um to qualify for the afon that we we have to win and um yeah we'll put everything in to do that and um I'm very very confident that we will win it's not going to be easy this is this is for sure and um um like I said um the boys are ready and they're hungry for tomorrow and they want to show everyone that they're still there and um tomorrow is a big chance for us to to show it thank you [Music]