It is believed football fans are the most ungrateful set of people one can find. Win and give them trophies, and you will be hailed as the new Messiah. Drop points or lose a few matches, and you are synonymous to incompetence.
If Croatian Zdravko Logarusic had not witnessed this, his defeat against Hearts of Oak clearly confirmed these claims.
Prior to the Super Clash, his 3 back system which saw Kotoko go seven matches unbeaten had largely been criticized because Kotoko were winning matches not in a pleasant or eye catching way.
When it mattered most for Kotoko fans, the former Ashantigold trainer switched to a 4 back system and the Porcupine Warriors had their first defeat inflicted on them. While there were agitations concerning the decision to award the penalty, members of the club believe Zdravko is not the best person for the job.
“We need a quality coach. Someone who knows what he’s about, if he assigns you to a position on the pitch, he knows what you can do,” Ashanti Regional Circles Chairman of Asante Kotoko, Obeng Sekyere said.
In hindsight, the calls for his incompetence might be justified because he failed in a big derby but careful scrutiny will prove the Croatian was only continuing from where he left off in their midweek victory over WAFA. Kotoko started with a 3 back system against the Sogakope side but failed to carve many openings which forced the team to restructure and play with a 4 man defence which saw Frank Sarfo Gyamfi introduced.
The change worked the trick with the winger scoring the only goal of the game. In line with this, Kotoko continued with this 4-4-1-1 system which served them well against WAFA. Afterall, no one changes a winning formula.
Kotoko lined up with Michael Akuffo and Awal Moahammed in central midfield flanked by Frank Sarfo Gyamfi and Emmanuel Gyamfi on the sides. Yakubu Mohammed led the line with Ashittey Ollenu playing in the hole behind him.
Key questions will only arise from his decison to stifle the team of creativity in the middle of the park. Michael Akuffo and Awal Mohammed largely concentrated on destroying rather than creating with Kotoko lacking a real creative midfielder. In addition to this, Baba Mahama was left on the bench and had little time to really drive at the Hearts midfield.
Not the result the Porcupine Warriors wished for, but criticism on Zdravko Logarusic seem very harsh especially after the change worked the magic for him in midweek.
Still a lot of games and points to be won in the league and a coach with the tactical flexibility will certainly be an added advantage in determining the league winners.
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