Gabon coach Patrice Neveu has stated he is still not happy about what happened with Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
After testing positive for the coronavirus and being ruled out of Gabon’s Group C opener against Comoros, Aubameyang failed to fully recover to take part in their second game against Ghana.
This saw him returning to his club while international teammate and OGC Nice midfielder Mario Lemina also left the Panthers camp for similar reasons.
Next matches
But Neveu’s side managed to get past the group stage without two of their key players and the coach has placed emphasis on the need to move on.
“Not happy with this situation [about Aubameyang], we have to accept and quickly bounce back from it,” Neveu told the media as per Africa Top Sports.
“What happened has happened, now it was especially necessary not to start making comments from left and right. Also faced with this situation, I remain responsible in the face of difficulties that must be overcome.
“Afterwards, it's the group behind that manages itself, but you have to... in football, how can I put it, even if you have difficulties and even if you lose players, whatever we can say, it's the result that counts.”
Gabon finished second in Group C after edging Comoros 1-0, drawing 1-1 against Ghana, before sharing the spoils 2-2 with Morocco on Tuesday.
They are now set to meet Burkina Faso in the Last 16 of Afcon on January 23.
Judging from their performances so far, Neveu believes that sets them in a good position to get past Burkina Faso.
“I think you saw it today [against Morocco], you saw it against Ghana, the strength in our team is the main thing that will allow us to achieve a result against Burkina Faso,” said Neveu.
“We also have to be extremely disciplined, it's a team that works well tactically, that is well articulated on the 3-5-2, or 4-2-3-1. It is a team where the young players are extremely disciplined which will make them upset Burkina.”