However, he was quick to emphasise the importance of meticulous preparation, stating that success for Coach Chris Hughton's team hinged on player discipline, focus and thorough groundwork.

Akonnor, who represented Ghana at four AFCONs and also captained the Black Stars at the 2000 tournament co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, believes the coveted trophy could be delivered by this generation of players, which had a rich blend of experience and talent, underlining the necessity of readiness, focus, and comprehensive preparation.

“Yeah, I strongly think so but you have to do a whole lot of things before you get there and these things don’t just come like that. You have to prepare, you have to be ready and also be focused. These crops of players are a blend of experienced and talented players, and I am very hopeful in them," he told the Graphic Sports.

The 49-year-old gaffer urged the players, many of whom he coached during his spell with the team, to turn recent public dissatisfaction into motivation, aiming to prove critics wrong in Cote d'Ivoire and win the hearts of Ghanaians through victories.

He acknowledged the absence of the usual anxiety surrounding AFCON, attributing it to the team's opportunity to rise to the occasion and perform well.

“Now you don't feel the sense of belief and anxiety which usually heralds an AFCON; you don’t see that now but it’s also good because it will help the players to rise up to the occasion because they are looking for an opportunity to do well so I feel very positive about it,” the coach noted.

After he was relieved of the Black Stars job in 2021, Akonnor took time off the game before returning recently to take up the role of technical director of lower tier side, Accra Athletic FC.

Reflecting on the challenges ahead, he called for a purposeful approach from the team, emphasising the importance of knowing their objectives and being driven to achieve them during the AFCON tournament.

“I believe once we are prepared and focused as a team about what we want to do and do it effectively we’ll shine in the tournament.

He said because the public had given up on the team, he was confident they would perform well considering the individual talents in the team but they needed to gel and also approach each match differently with a different mentality.

“Exactly what has to be done in every game is not the same, there are games you have to attack to win and there are games you have to defend more to frustrate the opponent once we are able to do these things and do our research on the opponent we’ll do well”, the coach assured.

Akonnor, who made 51 senior appearances for Ghana between 1991 and 2001, also challenged the players to remain disciplined by paying attention to what the technical team told them because it was only through discipline that they could achieve whatever they intended to do at the tournament.