There is no need mincing words, the performance of the Black Stars against Gabon in the Cup of Nations/ World Cup qualifier on Sunday was a big let down. The team that had scored two straight victories over Libya and Lesotho netting six goals in the process, suddenly crumbled in their third assignment and conceded two goals without reply

Admittedly it was a weekend of surprises in the qualifiers. African giants like Egypt, Cameroon and South Africa all had things rough but this should be no comfort for Coach Sellas Tetteh and his Black Stars. To keen observers of the Black Stars game plan the writing was clearly on the wall that with their kind of defensive system any accurate shooting forward line could cause havoc one day.

Even in the Black Stars whirlwind 3-0 win over Libya in Kumasi on June 1st television footages showed gaping holes in the Black Stars rearguard on many occasions and it was a mystery that the Libyans did not get at least two goals.

When a similar lethargic defensive work happened against Lesotho the southern Africans exploited the situation to get two quick goals in injury time. Many people were prepared to blame the rarefied atmosphere in Lesotho for sapping the energy of the Black Stars but the defeat in Gabon has made it difficult to stick to that high altitude theory.

It is my considered opinion that both the Football Association including coach Sellas Tetteh and the players don’t seem to approach these qualifying series with the seriousness it deserves. If the FA had planned the Black Stars training programme with the same zeal with which they managed to organize their extended stay in office we would not be talking about a substantive or acting coach in the middle of the qualifiers. The dangerous impression being created is that the qualifiers don’t matter much and Nelson Mandela might have lobbied for an automatic place for Ghana at the World Cup because of the help Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah gave to Mandela’s freedom fighters in the fight against apartheid

As for Coach Sellas Mensah instead of planning seriously to win the first four games allotted to him to enable him stake a claim for a permanent attachment to the Black Stars he was carried away with that win over Libya and began to think he was Le Roy’s replacement. It is good to be ambitious but over ambition is dangerous. Sellas believed it was going to be smooth sailing against Lesotho but it nearly turned sour his impeccable suit and white gloves on the touchline notwithstanding.

Now that Ghana has been put in a tight corner and the road to the World Cup has been made bumpy the FA must put its house in order and act decisively on the technical direction of the senior national team. It is good we have seen the signs that early. The football fraternity will constantly remind the FA of the reasons they gave for their extension of stay in power.

Gabon will be in Accra on Sunday June 22nd for the return leg and there should be no confusion about who is in charge. The present situation may lead to all kinds of experts dictating to the coach who has apparently been badly shaken unless he has a thick skin.

It is unfortunate that the match has been fixed for Accra where fans have little patience for mediocrity. Fans in Kumasi are more accommodating and a special appeal would have to go to the fastidious Accra fans to give both the players and the coach the peace of mind to deliver the goods

It’s a very long way to Angola and South Africa 2010 and it would be unfortunate if through mismanagement we mess up with even our home games. All hands must be on deck and the mass media should lead the crusade to get everybody on board like it happened in Ghana 2008. Cup of Nations.