Kumasi Asante Kotoko  failed to get results that will ensure qualification into the elusive group stage of the Caf elite club competition the Champions league after been eliminated by Tunisian side Etoile du Sahel.

The Porcupine warriors traveled to Tunisia with a healthy two nil advantage but conspired to lose three nil to a ten man Etoile du Sahel side.

Etoile were reduced to ten men with twelve minutes to end proceedings and at two nil down the porcupine warriors could not hold the Tunisians sides even to a penalty shoot out and suffered a sucker punch in the 85th minute.

Since then, the Dane has been under intense pressure following his failure to qualify to the group stage despite a healthy two nil lead.

To add insult to injury his post game comments about the Champions league not been Kotoko's level has always not gone down well with most fans of the team with rumours that the club are in talks with a German gaffer to take over.

But captain of the side Felix Annan has leapt to the defence of his coach saying that its the players who caused the defeat as they did not bring their A game in Monastir -Tunisia.

“It is a very painful defeat. We are not going to blame officiating or anything. We weren’t really at our best. I think our best was not enough. We had so much hope coming into the game after the first leg. It is unfortunate we couldn’t qualify to the group stage which we all wanted but this is the game. This is what football is made up. Sometimes there are ups and downs,” he told Kotoko Express.

“The mood in the camp is really down. We just have to pick ourselves up, recover and do well in the Confederation playoff. We have to move on and do well in the Confederation Cup.”

“As I have said, even though the officiating was bad, I don’t think we were any better. What we wanted to do; I don’t think we did it. As captain, I wanted the referee to know that what he was doing was not right. We had worked a lot and we were there for business. That’s why I approached him to tell him, he was unfair.”

The porcupine warriors will know their next opponents in the Confederations cup knock out game on Friday after Caf holds a draw.