SierraLeoneans.net - Gray takes Sierra Leone job

Gray takes Sierra Leone job

Former Tottenham and Crystal Palace midfielder Andy Gray has accepted the job of helping Sierra Leone to qualify for the 2008 African Nations Cup - and wants some of England's top youngsters to help him.

Chelsea's Carlton Cole, Fulham defender Liam Rosenior and West Ham's Nigel Reo-Coker are among the names Gray confirmed he hopes to entice into switching their international allegiance from England to Sierra Leone.

Gray, a football agent with the 'Wright, Wright, Wright' company, is also aiming to get former Spurs and England stars Les Ferdinand and Paul Gascoigne involved in the project.
The former England international said: "I am the captain of the ship and I will be getting the best people in the business to try and help me bring Sierra Leone football up.
"I won't be coaching them, but I will be using some of my contacts in football to put them on the map.
"Cole is eligible to play for Sierra Leone so is Reo-Coker, Steve Kabba of Sheffield United and Liam Rosenior at Fulham, plus a few more scattered around Europe.
"This is what has enticed me to try and get these guys to come and help Sierra Leone football.
"Because if they are not going to get an international career with England they might as well play African Nations Cup football. That was the carrot for me. This is not a gimmick.
"The players are there and if we bring a professional attitude to the country, then I have got to try and entice them."
Gray also wants to install former stars to help the country achieve its aim and has pinpointed the likes of Ferdinand, Gascoigne and Ian Wright, among others, as potential coaches.
"There has to be a base of locals but I would love to get hold of Gascoigne and some of the experience he's had in the game," declared Gray.
"You also have the likes of Les Ferdinand, Paul Davis, Ricky Hill, Cyrille Regis and Ian Wright - they are not being asked by their national side England to help them out. They are football people so why not ask these people to come and lend a helping hand.
"I just want to put the pride back into the country. They just came out of a civil war a couple of years ago but I am not trying to be a martyr or anything, but if there is a chance to bring the people together, and there is nothing better than football to do that.
"That is my aim really, to put a smile on people's faces," he told BBC Radio London 94.9fm.
Sierra Leone are drawn in a group along with Benin, Mali and World Cup finalists Togo for the tournament which is being held in Ghana in 2008.
Reo-Coker's father works as a doctor in the West African nation and, despite captaining the England Under-21s, is recently reported to have said he would consider switching his allegiance to Leone.
The country's footballing fortunes went into decline during the 10-year civil war which ended in 2002.

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