Claude Le Roy says the quality shown by the Black Stars at the African Cup of Nations gives him much hope for future as Ghana await the start of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers starting May.

Ghana came close to reaching the finals of the Nations Cup for the first time since 1992 but crushed out at the semi-final stage after losing to Cameroon.

However, the Black Stars picked up the pieces to win the third-place match; Ghana’s best placing at the tournament since winning silver in 1992.

Despite coming under attack for his tinkering, Le Roy remains unperturbed about his future with Ghana and says the present team have the quality to achieve more in upcoming competitions.

“This is not the time to talk about my future. What is important is the future of football in Ghana and that of the Black Stars for the years ahead,” Le Roy told ghanafa.org.

“It’s sad that we didn’t win the tournament. This team had the quality to win everything. But such is football. We did our best and I am proud of this team.

“I enjoyed a lot with the players. They are of high quality.

“We had perfect preparation and everybody gave us everything. The fans were behind us and we say thank you.

“It was a good moment for the future.”

With the World Cup qualifiers coming up later in June, Claude Le Roy, who has received the endorsement of his employers, the Ghana Football Association says, it’s time to look ahead.

“Now, we have to think about the future. The Black Stars is important than any other thing. They would achieve a lot of things.

“This team is younger and they would be stronger for the World Cup preparation.”

Ghana would begin the 2010 World Cup qualifiers from Group 5 with matches against Libya, Lesotho and Gabon.

The Black Stars’ first World Cup qualifier is against Libya at home on May 30.