Asante Kotoko’s Head of Public Relations, Samuel Sarfo Duku, has indicated that the club’s decision to terminate Prosper Ogum was solely based on the team’s recent performance.
Asante Kotoko stated on Monday that it is parting ways with Prosper Ogum.
Ogum, who has been with Kotoko for nearly two seasons and has a second instinct for the club, is now in fourth place with 47 points and is in the FA Cup semi-finals, where he will face Berekum Chelsea. In recent matches, Ogum’s team has won one out of five, drawn two, and lost the remaining two.
Their recent defeats to Accra Lions and Nations FC left fans disappointed and dashed their dreams of winning the league trophy, as Gold Stars had surpassed them at the top of the GPL standings.
In an exclusive interview with Akoma FM, Sarfo Duku attributed the club’s decision to terminate Ogum on the club’s poor performance.
“It’s not just about the outcome of a match, some would say we are only six points behind the leaders (Gold Stars), but it is much more that that, because we were on top by just a point or two and were tied with the second-placed team at a point in time”
Sarfo Duku acknowledges Ogum’s competence but believes that given the team’s present trend, it was unnecessary to keep him at the post.
“Looking at the trend, we started off so horribly, and then things started to improve, now we’re sinking, what do you expect? There is no doubt about Ogum’s competence, he is among the best in the country.” He stated.
“However, in football, there will be instances when things are not going well for the technical team, in such cases, the best solution is to hire a new technical coach to take charge. He (Ogum) did his best but that wasn’t enough.” He concluded.
Sarfo Duku went on to say that the coach was responsible for the players’ inability to perform as well as expected, and that if the performance continued to decline, dismissing him was the best option for the club.
“We gave him complete freedom to recruit players of his choice, so of the players aren’t performing and management, including all stakeholders, is doing it’s part, and it’s become clear that the entire things is about performance, who is responsible for improving the team’s performance? It’s the technical team, we have considered all other factors and have come to the decision that, it will be in the best interests of both sides to go their way.”
The club is scheduled to name a new coach in the coming days as they prepare to face Aduana FC in their next league game at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
Emmanuel Owusu
