Kwesi Appiah: Local Coaches Need Respect

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah last hit out at what he sees as the unequal treatment and lack of respect shown to African coaches leading national teams. Ghana made their fourth appearance in the last four of the Nations Cup since 2008. �There�s no difference between a foreign coach and a local coach, he says. �But the thing they tend to get is respect. The management shows respect to the coach, the media shows respect to the coach and automatically the player follow.� Appiah says that even in the run in South Africa, he�s suffered barbs. �After the game against Cape Verde, which we won 2-0, people were asking me: �Are you going to resign?� You know, you really don�t need that after a game you�ve actually just won. The players in the dressing room were happy that they�d won. But outside that�s what people feel they can ask. It�s not easy building a national team to participate in competitions and to perform,� says Appiah. �A local coach needs support when things aren�t going well. You need people behind you saying you can do it. But in the case of a black coach, there are so many people who will turn around and say: �We said you couldn�t do it. You�re nothing.� They try to bring you down. Once the media starts, the management gets involved too and it puts so much pressure on you. You get distracted and there�s no way you can make it.�