New Black Stars coach Avram Grant says he is excited by the opportunity to coach Ghana's national team.

Grant who will be officially unveiled on Thursday, also revealed that his keen interest in coaching Ghana made him down many offers.

Speaking exclusively to ghanafa.org before he is officially outdoored, the 59-year old trainer outlined his objectives for the team and his plans for next year's Afcon which will be played in Equatorial Guinea.

"It is exciting and also a challenging job because there is the big potential here and this country loves football every much and I love challenges like this."

"I also chose Ghana because of the potential in young players in the Under 20 and in the U17 so for me it will be exciting to develop this potential and to put them out to win major competitions," he stated.

On key requirements for selecting players into the National team, he said: "First is talent, second is to be proud to wear the National colours and third is for the player to have a good mentality and a positive attitude."

Coach Avram Grant will be facing his first major challenge on the African continent at the Nation's Cup in January but the experienced trainer remains confident that despite the tough opposition Ghana will face, the team will do its best at the tournament.

"I follow the African Cup because I've had players playing in it in some of the clubs I've managed like Michael Essien. So I have followed the last four editions closely”.

Ghana has been drawn in Group C alongside Algeria, South Africa and Senegal, a group that has been described as the Group of death.

“When we go to the AFCON, as a coach I want us to win games and we will win games and will see what will happen. But we will do our best at the tournament,” Grant said.

Note: An extensive transcript of coach Avram Grant‘s first interview will be published on Thursday before he is officially unveiled.