Ghana defender John Paintsil said the Black Stars have their minds focused on gold as the team prepares for the 2012 Nations Cup in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The Liecester City defender is unfazed by comments that most of the Black Stars players were warming the benches in their respective European clubs and that could negatively affect the team performance in the AFCON tournament. He believes team work and good preparation will steer the team to victory in the Nations Cup. “How we play in the club sides is different from how we play in the national team. And we the Black Stars team knows what the task ahead of us [is] and what we want to achieve. So whether we play in our clubs or not we are focusing on the Nations Cup,” he told Myjoyonline.com at the Sammy Osei Kuffuor testimonial match in which the Black Stars beat a select Sammy Osei Kuffuor side, 6-5. “We have got less than three weeks to go. The preparation has been fantastic. We have been playing lots of friendly games and we know what the coach wants and how we the players will position ourselves on the field. I don’t think it is going to be difficult. The only thing is for us to come with clean minds and focus on gold so that we can go there and print our name in gold and make the country proud,” he added. He said the Black Stars is ready to face any opposition in their bid to win the Cup for the first time in 29 years. He would not however say which team he would prefer the Black Stars play against in the finals. John Paintsil could not hide his admiration for Sammy Osei Kuffuor whose illustrious career he said has been a source of inspiration to him and most of the Black Stars players. “What our senior has done is very good and impressive. We the young, upcoming and senior Black Stars play he was the person we were looking up to. “He has been a fantastic player for the whole nation and for himself and family. On this occasion I think he deserves it,” Paintsil noted.