“It was difficult for me to make my first eleven” – Hearts of Oak coach Slavko Matic explains why

Head coach for Accra Hearts of Oak, Slavko Matic says it was difficult for him to make his first eleven after taking over the Rainbows coaching job.

The Serbian tactician arrived in Ghana in October last year and joined the Ghanaian giants as replacement for Samuel Boadu. He had to create the ultimate starting XI following the team’s poor start to the season and their early exit from the CAF Confederations Cup.

The Serbian tactician was also expected to take a team that was performing poorly and turn it around.

Despite sitting in second place in the league, there is an unstable moment for the club. The players who went for the CHAN tournament are back and after bringing in new faces, it is hoped that Coach Slavko Matic will look further to have a consistent team.

“I like giving opportunities to all the players. That’s what exactly I did when I came. I gave more than twenty players opportunities to show me who they are and what they can. We tried to settle on our first eleven but unfortunately, five of them went to the CHAN tournament. Within a short period, we stayed with 15 to 16 players. We were having six games at that time. We had a big challenge with a small number of players to play six games in a role. It was difficult for us. At that moment you cannot find the best eleven. How can you make the best or first eleven when five players are not with you? Is a different situation for the players.

“We always want to find the best eleven. I like to say when you make the best team you will have the best eleven. You must create competition between them. They must compete at the training, they must fight for first eleven and then you can expect success.

“Is not easy to find the first eleven, especially in this situation when you stayed without five of your players. It is important to give chance to everybody,” he told ghanasportspage.com.