Avram Grant has stepped down as head coach of Ghana after failing to guide his side to African Cup of Nations glory. The former Chelsea and West Ham boss said he is ‘proud’ of his record with the Black Stars and the parting of ways was ‘amicable’. Prior to his resignation the west African nation had said that Grant’s two-year contract would not be renewed and that they were already searching for his successor.
Grant took over as Ghana coach one month before the last Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea and took the side to the final where they lost to Ivory Coast on penalties. At the tournament in Gabon, Ghana reached the semi-finals but were beaten 2-0 by Cameroon before losing 1-0 to Burkina Faso in the third-place play-off.
‘After an extremely amicable meeting with the president of Ghana FA, and following more than two successful years in charge of the national team, I’ve informed Mr Nyantakyi that time is right for me to move on to a new challenge and I thank him for the opportunity,’ Grant said.
‘I’ve hugely enjoyed my time in Ghana taking over after the disastrous 2014 World Cup campaign and rebuilding the squad to reach the final in the African Cup of Nations for only the second time in 23 years, and also the semi final of this year’s competition.
‘I’m proud of the fact that I’m leaving an extremely professional, strong squad of players of a good age, who I’m sure will go on to achieve great success in the future. The passion and loyalty of the supporters is something I’ll always remember.’
Daily Mail