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New Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan feels his appointment to the position is not unexpected, since he has risen through the ranks and worked hard for the side for close to a decade. The 26-year-old forward was given the armband on a permanent basis by coach Kwesi Appiah, with John Mensah being elevated to the general captaincy role. The 26-year-old UAE-based striker was handed the Ghana armband on permanent basis by coach Kwesi Appiah with unattached John Mensah being elevated to the general captaincy role. "It's two things. First, I was happy about the decision to make me captain. Secondly, I wasn't surprised that something like this has happened. You'll notice that I've played consistently for the team for about ten years. And the guys I play with know that I am committed to the team. So obviously when I heard the decision I was happy, but I really wasn't surprised." The Al Ain player is currently on a hot streak in the UAE, having scored again on Monday to give his side a 2-2 draw with Al Jazira. Gyan has now scored ten goals in five games, but has been overtaken by Brazil's Grafite as the goal king. Before the former Sunderland player was made substantive captain, he had led the team twice against Malawi in the final two games of the African Cup qualifiers, a decision by Kwesi Appiah, which was designed to test the waters, supersport.com understands. A word on the Afcon draw... The Confederation of African Football conducted the draw for the next Nations Cup in Durban last week, placing Ghana alongside Niger, DR Congo, and Mali. Gyan feels what is needed from the Black Stars is simple. "None of those teams you see are walkovers. They all played qualifiers like we did. It's all up to us now to get through to the next stage when the tournament begins. The three other teams have also got good players that see them do something, but for now my focus is the Black Stars team." Gyan will take the Black Stars to South Africa from January 19, as he becomes another name in the prestigious list of players to have been named to the high position of Black Stars captain.