Former Black Stars skipper and Fomrer Black Stars Coach, Charles Kwablah Akonnor has admitted that there were challenges that hindered him from effectively achieving his goal as Coach during his stint with the Black Stars which ended a year ago.
“At a point, I felt that I needed to talk to somebody, not necessarily to teach me what to do. I did not get certain things right because there was too much talk about what I was doing”, he said on Soccer Chat with Fiifi Banson.
Charles Akonnor who captained Ghana’s Black Stars at the 2000 AFCON even believes he was betrayed by certain individuals within the Ghana Football Association during his brief time in charge as Ghana’s Head Coach.
“Sometimes I was not too sure who I was talking to. I spoke to certain people to help me and I later heard the content of our discussion from other people”, he revealed.
Background
In 2020, the Ghana Football Association appointed Charles Kwablah Akonnor as Head Coach to be assisted by David Duncan.
This was after James Kwasi Appiah’s contract had expired and was not renewed due to poor performance.
No sooner had C.K. Akonnor set to work, than the deadly Corona virus struck. Consequently, C.K Akonnor never had the full complement of the Black Stars team due to Covid 19 restrictions and injuries.
That notwithstanding, C.K Akonnor managed to qualify Ghana to the AFCON 2021 tournament.
Charles Akonnor’s problems begun in the World Cup Qualifiers.
CK Akonnor had a tumultuous and turbulent stint with the Black Stars amidst media reports of an alleged frosty relationship with the GFA President Kurt Okraku who also happened to be his former boss at Dreams FC.
He was fired in September 2021 after managing 10 games where he won 4 matches, drew 4 times and lost twice.
TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
The former Ghana International and former Black Stars Coach confirmed that the atmosphere around the Black Stars during his time was not the best and was not conducive for success.
He further explained that ” a lot of the things that happened during my stint were wrong. Later on, the information I got tells me that a lot went wrong.”
“What I experienced with the Black Stars was not good but I’m not the only one who suffered that treatment”, C.K. Akonnor said as it appeared that he did not want to go into details on what really transpired during his brief spell with the Black Stars.
However, Charles Kwablah Akonnor is of the view that all Ghanaians must let go of their grievances towards the Black Stars and help support the team as Ghana heads to the World Cup.
“I will let go of what happened in the past. Right now, we’re in a position where we’re going to the World Cup and we all need to be positive and support the team”
“Otto Addo did a very good job by recognizing me which I really appreciate. That’s enough for me. He is my colleague and I will give him the necessary support he needs.
The Former Wolfsburg and Black Stars skipper says he will rectify a lot of errors if given the chance to Coach the national team again.
“I let myself go through things that weren’t necessary and rather won’t happen again if I get the chance to Coach the team again”, he asserted.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Eugene Ofori Sottie
