A former Managing Director of Accra Hearts of Oak, Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe, has called for the immediate termination of the appointment of the Black Stars coach, Chris Hughton, to avoid the current retrogression facing the team.
Mr Armstrong-Mortagbe, a featured guest on the Graphic Sports X-Spaces Dialogue last Friday, highlighted a lack of identity, philosophy, application, endeavour and energy within the team after nine months under Hughton's guidance, emphasising that the team's recent poor performance reflected these deficiencies, and expressed doubt about Hughton's ability to reverse the trend ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2024.
“It becomes difficult to see where Mr Hughton is taking the team, and this is not limited to the last two games.
It has been the case virtually throughout the nine games that he has handled the Black Stars.
I struggle to see an identity, I struggle to see a philosophy, I struggle to see us using our players in roles where I think the players could apply themselves better,” he said.
Lack of progress
He questioned the continuity in coaching, noting that despite Coach Hughton managing approximately 80 per cent of the playing body inherited from his predecessor, Otto Addo, there seemed to be little progress, hence his conviction that a coaching change might be necessary to inject new energy and maximise the potential of the players.
Onetime Administrative Manager of the Ghana Leagues Clubs Association (GHALCA), Mr Armstrong-Mortagbe pointed to the national team's struggles against Mexico and USA in international friendlies in October, where they suffered defeats of 0-2 and 0-4, respectively, as crucial moments that the Ghana Football Association (GFA) should have prompted a reconsideration of Coach Hughton's role.
If I were a member of the GFA Executive Council I would be moving that we contemplate a coaching change.”
Regarding the upcoming World Cup qualifiers next year, he acknowledged the possibility of the Black Stars qualifying but stressed the need for a dramatic change, and challenged Coach Hughton to review the team's performance and make bold decisions to address the existing shortcomings.
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