Desailly rules out Ghana position

By Ibrahim Sannie

Desailly is not keen on taking over from Le Roy

World Cup winner Marcel Desailly has ruled himself out of contention to succeed Claude Le Roy as Ghana coach.

The former France international has emerged as the frontrunner to take over from Le Roy who quits the post at the end of the month.

The 39-year-old, who was born in Ghana, had in the past expressed interest in coaching the Black Stars but he is not keen at the moment.

"I am very flattered that fans and the media in Ghana want me to take up the post as the coach of the Black Stars but I have to say no for now," Desailly told BBC Sport.

"I have to put on standby the proposition of the people of my country and the massive media support."

Despite ruling himself out of taking over from Le Roy, the former defender is still confident of coaching the Black Stars in future.

"My time will come," said Desailly, who helped France win the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.

"When it does I will give it my best shot and use all the experience I have gained in my career in Europe to take Ghana to the highest level."

Even though he is disappointed at Le Roy's departure, Desailly is optimistic about the Black Stars' future.

He said: "Le Roy has done a very good job with the squad by holding it together and also bringing in young players for the future.

"The base is already there for success because of the quality of the squad and I know the players can achieve great things for the country."

Desailly enjoyed a successful career at club level as well as with France, winning the European Cup with Olympique Marseille in 1993.

He enjoyed long spells with AC Milan and Chelsea before closing out his career in Qatar.