Chief executive officer of Ghana Premier League Champions Wa All Stars, Oduro Nyarko has admitted they are favourites to win the Ghana Premier League in the 2016/2017 season.
The Wa based club defied all odds to win their first top flight title last season with 51 points, two ahead of Aduana Stars, with Asante Kotoko, Ashanti Gold and Hearts of Oak far behind.
However, the team has lost key players like Armando Mohammed and Joseph Adjei to Cordoba and Cape Town FC respectively, and will need to quickly run to the market for quick replacement.
Speaking to Accra based radio station Asempa FM, Oduro Nyarko revealed his team will ensure all is set ahead of time for another triumph.
"I understand that we will be the target to all clubs next season. All eyes will be on us because we won the league title in the previous campaign."
"However, only four clubs were able to pick a point from our home grounds in Wa and we defeated the rest. We were able to also pick four wins in our away games, sharing the spoils six times and losing in seven games so almost the clubs are aware of the threat we pose and will try to double their efforts whenever we face them but we're adequately prepared to successfully maintain the title."
He added: “Moreover, our squad for last season is not depleted ahead of the new campaign and we've been able to bring on board few young lads to complement it. Goalkeeper Richard Ofori, Kevin Andoh, Emmanuel Ocran and [Kwaku] Asuandzie are all available. If a club is able to maintain its full squad for another season with good training, one can realise that they can be champions again.
All Stars will be representing Ghana in the Caf Champions League next season but Nyarko says they will be battle ready for their maiden campaign.
"Oppositions in the Caf Champions League are very tough so we’re seriously preparing and hoping for the best. We can't meet clubs like T.P Mazembe and Al Ahly with weak squad so everything will be fine by the time we play our first match," he said.
The Ghana Premier League is set to kick off in February after the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Gabon and all eyes will be on Wa All Stars to do the magic again.