MONROVIA, Montserrado – Following the Lone Star’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Togo in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on June 5, the head coach of the Lone Star, James Debbah, for the second time, threatened to resign as head coach and described Liberians as “ungrateful” people.

Although the 46-year-old later retracted his statement, he said he would be leaving for a medical break starting in July and without a set date for returning. Since then, there have been several debates among football followers and pundits concerning a Debbah resignation.

The chatter became especially pronounced after a Ghanaian soccer website reported that the Ghanaian head coach of the Sudanese club Al Khartoum SC, Kwesi Appiah, was set to take over as head coach of Liberia’s national team.

The Liberia Football Association President Musa Hassan Bility has denied every report linking Appiah to a position as head coach of the Lone Star. Bility said the LFA has full confidence in Debbah and has no intention of parting ways with him.

“There is no need to sack the coach because we are not yet out of the tournament,” he said. “We’ve played five games, including against the fourth best team in Africa, Tunisia, and we are still on top of our group. There’s nothing to make ourselves want to pounce on ourselves as though the world has come to an end. We expected a good result, but we didn’t get it. We were not playing against a minnow.”

However, the LFA boss said the Lone Star should have done better against Togo after taking a 2-0 lead.

Bility said, “We should have done better than we did, especially when we led 2-0 after 65 minutes. Also, we have to understand that when you lead a very good team you just bring pressure on yourself. You just have to be prepared for the pressure, and we weren’t prepared for it.”

Featured photo by Peter King Quaye