Former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah says Ghana are not under pressure to annex the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations holding in Egypt next month.

The four time winners who have been to the semi-final of the last six tournaments, are seeking to win the trophy for the first time since 1982.

Ghana will open their campaign against Benin on June 25, four days before facing Cameroon, whom they lost to in the semi-final of the last championship.

The Black Stars’ last Group game will be against Guinea-Bissau on July 2.

“Our goal is to win the AFCON. We are not under pressure though. Personally, since my playing days, I usually don’t get under pressure. I have being under pressure only twice, that is the game against Burkina Faso in Kumasi and another was against Cape Verde,” Appiah said on the sidelines of the launch in Accra last Friday of this year’s MILO U-13 Championship.

“I realised that when I was playing, I just wore the jersey and went and played, but now that I am part of the technical team I see it to be difficult, the feeling is not the same,” he noted.

However, he asserted that it was their duty [as technical handlers] to encourage the players to work hard for glory.

“We will try and advise and encourage the players to do their best,” he added.