Current players of Kotoko do not deserve to play for the club – Augustine Arhinful
Augustine Ahinful
Former Ghana international Augustine Arhinful says many of the current Asante Kotoko players do not deserve to play for the club.
Asante Kotoko have had a poor run of results especially in the second round of the Ghana Premier League.
Though the club has now played three matches without a defeat in the league, many followers of the domestic game still believe the two-time African Club champions are way below what is expected of them in terms of performance.
Some fans of Kotoko in the course of the season have consistently blamed the current management of the club for what they describe as poor recruitment, with many of the players not deserving of playing for the club.
Speaking on the Kick-off show on Luv Fm, the former Black Stars striker, Arhinful said he has critically watched Kotoko this season and believes their poor form is due to the lack of quality players in their fold.
“Yes of course I can say that some players within the current Asante Kotoko setup are not supposed to be there. I can say that as a technical person. Because Kotoko is Kotoko, and from what I’ve seen some of the players do not deserve to play for the club.
“When I did some background checks on the players, I realised some are second division players, because you see a player and you ask where he is coming from? Which team did he play for before joining Kotoko? And you do the checks, and you realize he was playing for either a first division or second division somewhere.
“But this is Asante Kotoko we are talking about, and let’s not forget that not every good player that you see at maybe Bechem or other places can come to Kotoko and be successful,” he stated.
The former Ashgold striker says he doubts if Asante Kotoko will parade these players if the club were to participate in a continental competition.
“If Asante Kotoko is supposed to be playing an African Continental competition would they be playing with these players? We don’t want to hear the truth but until that time we face the reality we will not be successful,” he said.
Meanwhile, Arhinful who played in Europe for over a decade during his career has also taken a swipe at both Asante Kotoko and their rivals Accra Hearts of Oak for not doing enough in terms of developing youthful players from their various stables.
“If Dreams FC have a feeder club that feeds its first team why can’t Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak have a very good feeder team that when players are matured enough they push them into their first team. And because these young players have learnt the Asante Kotoko method, immediately they will adapt,” noted Arhinful.