Black Stars players must begin to take responsibility
CK Akonnor
Former Ghana coach, Charles Kwabla Akonnor has jumped into defense of Black Stars coach Chris Hughton, saying players often make the job difficult for coaches by not listening to them.
Hughton has been under intense pressure following a poor run of form that has seen the Black Stars win just one win in their last four matches.
In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Ghana suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Comoros despite recording a hard-fought 1-0 win against Madagascar.
Akonnor, who managed Ghana between 2020 and 2021, believes Hughton still deserves time to transform the fortunes of the national team.
According to him, the players must also take some responsibility because they are reluctant to obey the instructions of their coaches.
“The players also need to be disciplined by listening to the technical men who are in charge. Most of the time, the blame is put on coaches because they are responsible for that which I agree but sometimes players too are reluctant to do what they are asked to do so it gets difficult for the coach,” he told Graphic Sports.
Akonnor, who is a former Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko head coach further rejected doubts over the competence of Hughton and his technical staff, insisting their track records prove how good they are.
“They are able technical men who have done this job for some years now. The likes of the head coach, Chris Hughton, have done well for himself as a manager. We all know him, and he is not a new name in the game,” he said.
“Didi Dramani has also been in football for quite some time, and he’s done his job very well and Boateng is also a good man, very knowledgeable about the game tactically and so we are not that poor about the game tactically.
“Sometimes we turn to blame them a lot, yes I agree, but maybe the players too must also play their part for the team to function, it’s not always the coach’s fault.”
Chris Hughton and the Black Stars are aiming to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in January 2024 to end the country’s 41-year trophy drought.
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