Head coach of the senior national team, Milovan Rajevac has explained that his decision to play Daniel Amartey at right-back ahead of Philemon Baffour was based on the fact that he knew little about the latter.

Amartey was used as a makeshift right full-back in the double header against Zimbabwe last month despite the inclusion of Baffour as the only right-back in the Serbian’s squad for the game.

His choice raised a lot of concerns about the Dreams FC defender, who is yet to taste any minute of football with the Black Stars despite receiving a number of call-ups over the last year.

However, the head coach has revealed the rationale behind leaving Baffour out of the starting lineups in the games against Zimbabwe, explaining that he didn’t want to make mistakes.

“I took over the team a few days to the double header against Zimbabwe, and I had to go with players I knew better. That’s why I opted for Daniel Amartey,” Rajevac said.

“In that situation we had to win, and could not afford to make mistakes, so I went for Amartey because I know him better.

“Philemon was part of the Ghana team that won the U-20 AFCON, and he has quality. It is important for young players to take their chance when they get it, and for Philemon, I’m sure his chance will come,” he concluded.

The Dreams FC youngster is once again named in the 28-man squad for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia and South Africa in the coming weeks.