The Head Coach of Accra Hearts of Oak, Martin Koopman, has dismissed suggestions by the club’s fan base that he is the reasonfor the club’s poor showing in the ongoing Ghana Premier League (GPL).
In a no-holds-barred media interaction after guiding the Phobians to a second consecutive scoreless draw, Coach Koopman emphasised that neither he nor the players must be blamed for the team’s performance.
“I am not the problem; the players are also not the problem because they gave everything. The difficulty we are going through is actually about goal scoring. It is a problem deeply rooted in Ghana football and not Hearts of Oak alone.”
Hearts are suffering from a bad run of form in the ongoing betPawa Premier League, having amassed five points from five games and scoring just a goal.
Last Saturday, Coach Koopman oversaw his fifth game in charge with agoallessdraw with visiting Samartex FC at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Itwas a third successive game the ‘Rainbow boys’ failed to find the back of the net and their underwhelming start to the campaign has seen them languish at the lower parts of the league log on five points with a game in hand.
The fans after Saturday’s game hooted at Koopman, asking him to quit his role at the club.
But the Dutchman is adamant, insisting that he was the right man for the job.
“This problem (goal scoring) is also with the national team, the Black Stars, where the absence of strikers or wingers have made goal scoring difficult. Most of the players are actually midfielders but because there are very few or no strikers, these midfielders are forced to play in the striking roles. There areno specialist strikers in Ghana.”
And that problem permeates all the way to the grassroots of Ghana football.
He gave an example of howKudus Mohammed score goals from his position behind the main striker but fails to shine when he leads the team’s attack.
“I want the fans to come to the training grounds to see for themselves the efforts we put in to get the best of results. May be that will make them appreciate what we do,” he stated.
The 67-year-old trainer said the team was made up of players aged between 19 to 21 years who needs time to start performing.
He lauded the effort of young striker, Hamza Issah, who got promoted from the feeder side, Auroras, stating that when given time and the chance to play and develop, he will be good for both Hearts of Oak and the Black Stars.
“Issah is a technically gifted player and is strong in the air; he has something special. What we need is to get him more training and development, give him the confidence to play big games like the Premier League and everyone will see. He is one player for the future, he may become the striker for the Black Stars in the future.”
He pointed to the fans to stop comparing training matches to league marches because the dynamics are different in both situations.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY