<<Print>>Avram Grant’s agent Saif Rubie has leapt to the defence of his client as criticism of the Ghana coach mounts over his long absence from Ghana until recently.
The Israeli is back in Accra ahead of a 2017 Nations Cup qualifier against Rwanda but his two-month absence prior to that at a time when the domestic Ghana season was heading into it’s most critical stage has angered many.
Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantekyie has said he will have a word with the coach about staying in Ghana often.
But Saif insists Grant has been away for good reason and suggest that so long as Ghana gets results under Grant, then there really is no issue
“Avram is happy to have the privilege of being a national team,” he told the BBC Sports Today program. “In a short period of time he managed to turn around the whole nation’s attitude and expectation of the national team after the debacle of the world cup. All he does is watch games and prepare for the next and that is his priority. The outcome of it shows in the games so far.”
“He has not been on holidays”, Saif continues “He has been scouting players all over Europe. He has been organising coaching clinics for the coaches in Ghana because he believes good coaches will bring good players. It is his job to do the best for the national team and I think so long as that shows in the national team, I don’t see what the issue is.”
Saif also suggest that the quality of the Ghana league effectively rules players out of Grant’s squads.
“He sleeps and drinks Ghanaian football but at the moment the quality of the league in Ghana is not up there due to a number of reasons.
Any player that does well in Ghana goes to play in second or third division teams in Europe or Asia in places like Thailand and Vietnam and obviously for Avram, these are not the kind of players he will look to pick for the national team so the pool of players in the Ghanaian league is not the standard that it should be.
You look at the players that he has picked for the national team, you can’t really argue with one who has come and not performed at the highest level.”