Hearts Of Oak Board Responds To Former Coach Over Interference In Player Selection Allegation

The Board of Ghana Premier League giants, Accra Hearts of Oak has hit back at claims from recently dismissed coach , Martin Koopman that the board prevented him from using certain players during his short stint at the club.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra today,December 4,2023 at the club’s Secretariat ,the board led by Dr Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe was quite sad and unhappy over the remarks by the coach which sought to indict the reputation of the board members.

” We have found publication of comments and voice clips circulating in the mass media space of our former employee , Martin Koopman to the effect that we ( the board) have been exerting undue influence over player selection and technical issues of the team.

It must be put on record that the claims are spurious and deserve to be dealt with the contempt it deserves ,because we are a professional club and respect structures within the club and cannot interfere with issues regarding technical matters which we have limited knowledge of”.

Also, the board added that the team has a strategic vision to reclaim their position on the continent as one of the biggest teams on the continent which resulted in the management settling on Dutch coach , Martin Koopman before the current season began.

” As part of our strategic vision and plans to reposition Glorious Hearts of Oak among the elite on the continent ,we have put in place well developed structures within the club as part of fulfilling that goal which includes the appointment of Martin Koopman ahead of this season to oversee the technical operations of the club , so we will not be counterproductive by bantering with former employees of unwarranted allegations that might affect the gains we have achieved thus far”.

In earlier development, former coach ,Martin Koopman had revealed in a media interview that he was handicapped by the interference of the board in player selection during his stint at the club which affected the overall development of the team.

” In the beginning, the team was good from preseason till the season began with the support of management ,but in the ensuing weeks, I had a meeting with the board where I was given the names of 7 senior players not to pick for games since the board was of the view ,that the players were not going to help the team as expected by the  club hierarchy.

I was not happy with the interference from the bosses and I with my team continued to pick these aforementioned players because they are a competent batch of players who prove their worth everyday on the pitch and the collective progress of the club which led to the breakdown of the working relationship between myself and the board as well as the subsequent termination of my contract”.

The club has since appointed a caretaker coach to oversee operations of the playing body but the form of the team has not improved as expected by both fans and management.

By ; Citizen Sika Togoh