New coach Grant offers lifeline to Ghana outcasts

ACCRA (Reuters) - New Ghana coach Avram Grant has said he will consider an international return for Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng who were sent home in disgrace from the World Cup in Brazil. In his first interview since taking over the national team job in West Africa last week, the former Chelsea manager said every player eligible for the Black Stars would be considered for selection, no matter what their history with the team. Muntari struck a member of the Ghana management committee after a row over money in Brazil, while Boateng clashed with former Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah. “It’s open for every player that is willing to give everything for his country and to understand that with all the developments in football, money etc, the main competition is for the national team,” Grant told the Ghana FA website (www.ghanafa.org) on Thursday. “Any player that will be proud to wear the national jersey and give all his passion to the team and have the quality, of course, the doors of the Black Stars are open to him. “I think when you are going into a new situation you don’t need to look at the past. You need to look for a new beginning, but to see the good things and the bad things from the past and learn the things that we can do better.” At the same time Israeli Grant cautioned players that he would not accept poor discipline. “I will not choose a player just because he is disciplined, but the players that will not be disciplined cannot be in the team. It’s a way of life, so I will be disciplined and they will have to be disciplined too.” CUP AMBITION Grant, who led Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final where they lost to Manchester United, has been mandated to “do well” at the 2015 African Nations Cup and win the 2017 edition. The Black Stars have been drawn in a difficult Group C at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea next year that runs from Jan. 17 to Feb. 8, where they face top-ranked African side Algeria, South Africa and Senegal in their first round pool. The 59-year-old Grant, who has never coached in Africa before, said the tournament would not be a completely new experience for him. "I followed the African (Nations) Cup because I've had players playing in it in some of the clubs I've managed, like Michael Essien. So I have followed the last four editions closely,” he said.