Former Ghana midfielder Laryea Kingston believes the current Black Stars team lacks a quality leader who can inspire his colleagues as well as stump his authority on the pitch, stressing that skipper Asamoah Gyan is not a well respected figure among his peers.

The former Hearts of Oak midfielder who played with Gyan between 2005 and 2010 say he was disappointed with the demeanor of the Black Stars players towards the captain in Ghana’s 0-0 with Uganda in the FIFA World Cup qualifier last Friday.

“Leadership is very important in the team. As a leader, the people around you have to accept you. But at the moment, I don’t think the players accept their leader [Gyan] because sometimes on the pitch, you can even feel some negative energy towards him [Gyan],” Kingston said in an interview with Ultimate FM.

“I’m not close to the team, but watching from afar, you can feel that something is not right. For example, during the Uganda game, I could feel Gyan didn’t stamp his authority.

“One instance he wanted to take a free-kick and another player took the ball from him. You had four or five players around the ball every time there’s a free-kick. That’s not right.”
Gyan was appointed as Ghana captain in October 2012 succeeding retiring John Mensah