Stephen Appiah says the Black Stars have set their sights on winning their World Cup qualifying group match against Lesotho on Saturday despite playing down the level of expectation from the home fans.

The Ghana captain says he and his colleagues are in buoyant mood to claim all the spoils when the Black Stars meet Lesotho in the final Group 5 game in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

The Black Stars beat the Basothos 3-2 in the reverse fixture in Bloemfontein.

A victory over Lesotho would keep Ghana in the hunt for a place in the next qualifying round and Appiah insists his colleagues should be looking to stay focused throughout the match.

“This is the last match to qualify for the next stage of the qualifiers so we are taking this match very serious because if we don’t win we will be out of the competition, so we have to go into this game with all seriousness,” Appiah said after a Ghana training session.

While Appiah maintains a positive attitude on and off the pitch, he is realistic enough to know that a poor showing could ruin another World Cup opportunity especially with an expectant home crowd filling the Sekondi Sports Stadium.

“We are playing in Ghana and in front of our crowd and there would be a lot of pressure but we have to control our nerves because we have a good chance to go through.”

Despite being back from a long layoff, the Black Stars captain, who is in line to play his first home game since November 2007, has played down the level of expectation after producing some good football in the last game away to Libya.

“My return into the team would not make any huge differences because Stephen Appiah or no Stephen Appiah, Black Stars would forever be Black Stars. I am here to give whatever I can give and as you know, I have trained for nine months and I can see that I am fit and strong but it is the team that must deliver in unison but not Stephen Appiah alone,” the Ghana captain said.