Coach Frimpong Manso plays down title contenders tag
Head coach of Bibiani Gold Stars FC, Stephen Frimpong Manso, has praised his team’s strong mental fortitude in their 1-0 win over Accra Hearts of Oak, while urging caution on the title-winning talks despite their strong start to the ongoing Ghana Premier League.
The Miners secured all three points on the road on Sunday against the Phobians at the University of Ghana Stadium, the first away win of the season to keep their unbeaten run this season and stay on the league log after eight games.
Gold Stars continue to enjoy a rich vein of form at the start of the season, with five victories and three draws from eight games.
Despite their strongest start to the league season, Coach Frimpong Manso maintains it is too early to talk of winning the title.
Speaking after Sunday’s victory, he played down the title-winning talks, saying it was too early to start that conversation.
“It is too early to talk about winning the league. The season is just eight weeks old, and we are playing 34 matches; that means we have 26 more games to go, and that is a lot. I am thinking about the next game.”
“This team is a work in progress; we are trying to psych their minds to where we want to be this season, and it needs tough mentality. I am glad we are gradually making progress,” he added.
“Coming away to Hearts of Oak, who were picking up after a bad start, we knew it was going to be difficult, but we prepared adequately to match them, and it paid off with this win.”
All our previous away games have ended in a draw and picking this victory against no less a side than Hearts of Oak is a huge step in our quest to do better than we did last year; the hard work is indeed paying off, and we would keep at it,” he said.
While praising his boys for showing character during the game and making sure they held on to their goal, he congratulated NASCO man-of-the-match winner goalkeeper Emmanuel Kobi for his stellar performance in the game, saving a penalty from Hamza Issah as well as making as many point-blank saves to help secure the victory.
“Having a goalkeeper like Kobi is also the reason we are where we are today; he has complemented the work of his on-field players, and this is great for the team,” he commended.
He called on the club fan base to continue to keep faith with them as they take it match after match.
“We appreciate all their efforts, and they should keep faith with us; in times of difficulties, they should remember times like this and still be with us,” the former Ghanaian international added.
