In a similar situation compared to his first coming to Kotoko and last season, Coach Prosper Nartey Ogum finds himself needing to put every player at their rightful place at the club,with the gaffer hell-bent on restoring sanity in the club following previous chaotic situations.
www.ghanasportspage.com can authoritatively state that the Asante Kotoko technical team led by Prosper Ogum is on the verge of officially assigning leadership roles to players of the club, which means Kotoko will go into the next season with a new captain and assistant. It is in line with this that insiders consulted on who becomes the next Kotoko boss are mentioning Justice Blay and Frederic Asare as new captains of the club.
Kotoko is currently without a substantive captain as skipper Ibrahim Danlad and his deputies Richmond Lamptey and George Mfegue have all departed the club, bringing to an end an era, after they took over from Richard Boadu Agadas.
Prosper on his first Kotoko stint took charge at the time Felix Annan had just left the club and thus was left with the task of appointing new leaders. In came Emmanuel Gyamfi who was later pushed out with Abdul Ishmail Ganiu taking over while Razak Abalora and Salifu Mudasiru deputized.
And now, with almost the entire squad wiped out remaining about 10 players, Ogum is of no choice but to name new leaders and it is difficult to look beyond Justice Blay and Frederick Asare, as both players captained Kotoko at various games last season . Blay is now the longest-serving Kotoko player and a favourite of the Kotoko fans, endearing himself to the fans when he declared Kotoko is the only club he would play for when he was with Medeama, sitting out till his contract expired. Asare also had a national team call after displacing Danlad to become Kotoko’s number one. He, just like Blay, is said to be a cool, calm,discipline and dedicated player . Both players have been in and out of Ogum’s first team but are this time being slapped with the duty of leading Kotoko on the pitch .
“Kotoko is a team now in transition and we are only happy there are some senior players like Blay and others who will serve as an example to those who just joined. Blay and Asare are shining examples and the head coach believes in them,reason they are about to be officially named as captains”, an insider told ghanasportspage.com
This website has been told that unlike previously when about three or four players were detailed as captains ,only two people will be named this time as Prosper is using the previous season’s experience to refine future assignments. Michael Kyei Dwamena ,former captain at Wafa where Prosper coached is seen as a leader too while two unnamed players were also being looked at since the Kotoko technical team believes whoever is a captain should be a first-team player.
“Starting from the match against Hearts, the players who are seen as leaders will have no choice but to play with their all since performance will be used as the first criterion to install a captain before other considerations are looked at . Kotoko is the biggest club in Ghana and our captains are ambassadors respected by even opponents that will be maintained going forward”,a Kotoko source revealed.
With nothing changing, surely the captain’s armband knows its destination as the Fabulous Club seeks to recapture its lost glory. The Democracy Cup match against Hearts in Accra marks a new beginning for the new players who are said to have been lined up to go through a thorough orientation by the club which will educate them on the dos and don’ts of Kotoko. It is understood that the IMC are in serious deliberations with the technical team, the playing body and even Staff at the Kotoko Secretariat to strictly adhere to the rules and regulations of the club and that the club will not condone any acts of lawlessness going forward.
