Former Black Stars defender, Lee Addy has advised Accra Hearts of Oak to strike a balance between experienced players and young talents ahead of the upcoming season.
According to Addy, having too many young players in the team can disrupt the control and authority of the team, and instead, a blend of both experience and exuberance would be perfect.
Addy believes that having four senior players and blending them with younger players would be an ideal combination.
He cited Real Madrid as an example, saying that even when things go wrong for the Spanish giants, players like Luka Modric step in to rescue the team.
“Accra Hearts of Oak is a very big club. Hearts and Kotoko shouldn’t be recruiting only young players. You have to blend the experience with the exuberance. Let’s say you have like four senior players, and you blend with the youth, I think it’s perfect.
“When things are going bad for Real Madrid, there’s a certain Luka Modric who’d come into to rescue them so when they (Hearts) signed Sulley Muntari and Samuel Inkoom, I was happy,” he told Ghanasportspage.com in an interview.
The former defender also spoke about his experience with Samuel Inkoom, who expressed concerns about playing for Hearts of Oak due to the high number of young players in the team.
Addy believes that having experienced players in the team can convert chances more effectively than younger players.
“I met Inkoom one day, and he told me, Lee. I will be stressed if I play there because they are full of young players, and it will not help. With some experience in the team, when you get one or two chances, they can convert it comparing it to the conversion rate of the young ones”
“They should know how to blend the two. Yes, the youth is very important, but they should add some experienced players to the team, and it will help a lot,” he ended.
Hearts of Oak have signed goalkeeper Benjamin Asare and midfielder Michael Boateng from Nations FC as they prepare for the upcoming season, but Addy thinks that the club should add more experienced players to the team to achieve success.
Listen to the full conversation below:
