The Board of Directors of Accra Hearts of Oak PLC has denied claims by a former coach of the club, Martin Koopman, that he was asked not to use seven key players because they were not committed to the club.
Coach Koopman claimed he was cautioned against the use of players like Dennis Korsah, Eric Esso, Albert Eonde, Salifu Ibrahim, Suraj Seidu, Richard Attah, and Kwabena Anane.
The Dutch trainer also went on to state that the club’s status as a big club existed only on paper.
At a press conference held at the World Trade Centre, yesterday, a member of the club’s board, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, said the board finds coach Koopman’s comment very distasteful and unfortunate.
According to Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, the only player who did not feature under coach Koopman was goalkeeper Eric Ofori Antwi who is injured.
“Coach Koopman was solely responsible for player selection and used 29 out of the 30 registered players for the season.”
“We want to state categorically that, no Board member has ever instructed Coach Koopman or any coach to use a particular player or the other.”
According to him, the team’s dip in performance has become a major concern for the board and management, hence, the reason for the appointment of an experienced coach in the stature of Koopman to lead its renaissance.
He said the board held regular meetings with the technical team and the supporters to address the team’s challenges and found the coach’s position quite baffling.
“If today he is blaming the Board, then he is not being truthful to the facts,” he said.
“As to whether Hearts is a big club or not, the records are there to show,” he added.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY