Hearts did not plan to be second from the bottom of the league after the second matchday – but that is exactly where they are. A combination of factors have led them there, not least a formless style of football and players who have faded, rather than sparkled, in the spotlight so far.
Bold official reaction at this time can be hard to get, but Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe is not one to cowered by a setback. He spoke to Gary Al-Smith on the Monday sports analysis show, the Joy Sports Track, on the mini-crisis the team faces.
Gary: First of all, what’s your reaction to the fan agitation we see following two straight league losses?
Yes, we have started and the starting has been very disturbing but as a club like Hearts of Oak, we know definitely that we shall bounce back. As for fans, they are the lifeblood of the club and we know that things must get better quickly.
Gary: Where the fans are concerned, the complaint is that things are not going well from the managerial side of things, particularly with the sacking of [former coach] Kim Grant after just one game in charge. Your supporter-base seems very split…
The performance of Grant when we played Berekum Chelsea is very clear and is something that compelled us to take the decision we took concerning his performance and how he has been handling the club. What I would say is that Grant is no more and the boys are now in the hands of a new coach.
[In] their [last league] match with Medeama, even though they played well, they could not score. What we have noticed is that maybe our attacking machinery is not as effective as it should be so we are working on that. And I can assure the supporters that we are not at all going to be idle on such an important thing.
With the question of management, we are carefully watching [and] if there is a need to bring some changes there, we shall definitely do it.
Gary: The attacking machinery seems quite blunt indeed. What is the plan going forward? Hearts did not do any serious buying like you saw some of your title challengers doing in the off-season. And I personally know some players who said they were literally begging to play for Hearts of Oak, but management said no…
I am glad you made mention of players. Listen to me carefully: Grant had the playing body that we are using now for almost 13 to 14 months. And if he had been a good coach, we would have definitely had better results – and that justifies the position of the board to kick him out.
Now, we have noticed how weak our [attack] is and we are working on that. Grant, unfortunately, disregarded advice as far as new players are concerned – and he brought in new players that, I think, he knew. We are going to correct those things very soon and I can assure supporters that there will be a different Hearts of Oak in our next match [against Dwarfs].
Gary: Are you saying that management takes blame and accepts that it is your fault for not seeing that Kim Grant was not a good coach? And that the striking department was not as good as advertised by the coach? Are you taking blame for that?
Who is taking blame? You mean the board or what?
Gary: No, you as Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe. As a member of the board, and the board itself.
Oh, ok. I always like to operate in democratic institutions. Hearts of Oak board is democratically run. In fact when Grant was engaged, I was out of the country, I came back to meet him and with what I noticed, I was not satisfied. I was told that quite a number of young – and very gifted players – were given to him and he did not take them.
We are not scoring goals, what we will need definitely will be very potent strikers who will always find the net like Hearts of Oak has been for years, when we had about five strikers always ready to put the ball at the back of the net. We are working on that. I can assure you that before the windows closes, we shall make sure we get strikers that will make everyone happy, the supporters and all admirers of Hearts of Oak.
Gary: [Interim] coach Nii Odoom says the Hearts of Oak job is not beyond him. Are you convinced by what you’ve seen so far, especially coming on the back of the 3-0 drubbing by Medeama?
Odoom is a good coach. There is no doubt about that. He has acted as a stopgap for the club on many occasions, and he’s performed. All I will say is that he needs encouragement and the support of both workers and management.
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