Former Ghana international, Yusif Chibsah, has backed Black Meteors captain Daniel Afriyie Barnieh to step up following a dip in form in the ongoing U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The former Hearts of Oak striker who was a key for the side during the qualifying games has come under pressure for his uninspiring form.
Afriyie Barnieh, who currently plays for Swiss side FC Zurich, was substituted against Congo in the opener and was dropped against Morocco in the second game.
Ahead of the final Group A crucial game against Guinea, Chibsah believes it is inappropriate to pick on underperforming players in Tanko’s current team at this crucial stage of the tournament.
“It is a whole lot of factors that constitute a player being out of form or losing form," he told Citi Sports.
“If you look at Afriyie Barnieh in the second game against Morocco, when he jumped in, those few minutes he was brought on, his runs were right; at least he did some few good things that showed that he is not entirely out of form.
“Like I said there are a whole lot of factors that contribute to a player’s dip in form, some of them might be external factors, not necessarily football related.
“He has had few minutes at club side [FC Zurich], he joined the club, a couple of months ago, he is new to them, and he needs to be integrated slowly, he needs to get used to the system play. It is a whole lot of factors.
“It would be unfair to the young man, to judge him outright over a couple of few months, joining a new team, a different country, and different people.
“He is not the only person at the tournament, we are there with 23 players, so if he is not in form as people think, there are other players that should be equally good to play and step up.
“For me, it is not a good sign to be singling out individual players in this situation.
"It is a team and it has to be a collective responsibility," he added.
Ghana takes on Guinea at the IBN Matouta Stadium in a must-win game to secure a place in the last four.
The former Hearts of Oak striker will be hoping to produce a better outing against Guinea.
Daniel Afriyie Barnieh has just eight minutes under his belt for FC Zurich last season and is yet to register his name on the score sheet.