Frenchman Le Roy seeks to elevate Togo national team

Claude Le Roy is tipped to revitalize Togo’s national football team, after he took over as the new coach in April.

Le Roy is expected to elevate the Sparrow Hawks following years of poor performances.

Le Roy has worked on the continent for almost 30 years and has coached at a record eight African Nations Cup finals having coached Ghana, Congo Brazzaville, Senegal, DR Congo and Cameroon.

“What I have done in all the countries I have worked in was to find new players, because the door is always open, to bring new players as well as replacing some. The job of a coach is to make the right choices,” said Le Roy.

The veteran coach takes over from Tom Saintfiet.

Applauding Le Roy’s appointment sports journalist, Jacques Pekemsi, said,

“You only have to mention his name to know his credentials on the continent, we know what Claude Leroy has done on the continent. I think that it’s his name that has influenced the players. Just from watching the first training, you get the sense that the players are motivated compared with the last coach. I think there is hope, there is reason to have hope because we can even see that players from local leagues playing in the team are also very motivated. I think there is hope.’‘

The Sparrow Hawks are currently third in their qualifying group for the Africa Nations Cup in Gabon.

“The Frenchman has coached five different countries in eight final tournaments, but he faces a tough battle if he wants to add another appearance to his already impressive CV next year in Gabon,” noted football governing body FIFA.

This month, Togo will be playing away to group leaders Liberia in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nation qualifiers.

Reuters, FIFA