JOHANNESBURG: Former captain Jacob Nettey says Ghanaian club Hearts of Oak are wasting money competing in the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup, which kicks off this weekend.
The defender who led the Accra club to the 2000 CAF Champions League title -- the greatest achievement in its 104-year history -- says the current squad lack quality and experience.
Hearts host Police of Benin in one of 23 preliminary-round, first-leg fixtures in the second-tier African Football Confederation (CAF) club competition.
They were the first winners of the Confederation Cup in 2004, edging fellow Ghanaians Asante Kotoko on penalties in Kumasi after two 1-1 draws.
But Nettey, 39, a Hearts of Oak footballer from 1994 to 2002, told Ghanaian radio his former club have no hope of repeating that feat.
"Hearts lack the quality to play in Africa -- you do not have to be a magician to see that," stressed Nettey.
"It will be a waste of money for them to play in Africa. The players are new and not experienced enough.
"If you want to compete at the highest level, you must have quality players.
"I'm sorry, we simply don't have that kind of quality in the team.
"They won't get anywhere and that for me is a waste of money."
The midweek seventh round of the Ghanaian championship provided a stark reminder of how far once-mighty Hearts have fallen.
A 2-1 home defeat by lower-half Edubiase left Hearts 12th out of 16 clubs with just eight points from a possible 21.
Fortunately for Hearts, Beninese clubs rank among the weakest in CAF competitions and it would be a shock if Hearts failed to reach the last-32 stage.
Ghana 2014 World Cup coach Kwesi Appiah will be in the dugout of Sudanese side Al-Khartoum, who host Zambians Power Dynamos in a preliminary-round highlight.
Appiah failed to get a side distracted by bonus rows -- which led to millions of dollars being flown from Ghana to Brazil -- past the first round at the World Cup.
He was sacked two months later during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, ironically after a 3-2 victory in Togo.
Appiah and his team face a Zambian side well prepared after three warm-up matches in Kenya, including a 3-0 triumph over champions Gor Mahia.
The deadly Ebola epidemic prevents Guineans Horoya and Liberians Fassell playing at home so both legs have been switched to Mali capital Bamako.
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