2017 AFCON: Rwanda coach McKinstry concerned about players’ fitness ahead of Ghana clash

Rwanda coach Johnny McKinstry has expressed worry about his players' fitness as they prepare for the Afcon 2017 qualifier against Ghana on September 5 at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali.

The Irish tactician pointed out the lack of recent matches for his players who are in the pre-season stage with the Rwanda Premier League (RPL) scheduled to start on September 18.

“I have concerns with the match fitness and sharpness. We need to make sure that training is at an intense level over the next couple of weeks,” explained McKinstry.

“APR, who obviously present a number of players, have played longer(including in the just-ended Cecafa), but the majority of senior players haven’t done a lot of training which means we have to get them to high match intensity within a couple of weeks.”

“The other players are still in preseason phase. Now as good as pre-season phase is in Rwanda, the majority of the Ghanaian players will have had a better pre-season with all the sports science technology that all of them have at their top European sides.”

“Just in terms of the resources we have here in Rwanda, we are not able to afford certain things as compared to what they have been up to for the last eight weeks. That is what we have got to do in training, to make sure that our level is adequate to go and take on Ghana.”

Ghana are top of Group H with three points after thumping Mauritius 7-1 but are tied on points with Rwanda, who saw off Mozambique 1-0 in Maputo.