Grant is the best man for Ghana job – Okraku

Former Administrative Manager for the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), Kurt Okraku says that Avram Grant is the best possible candidate for the vacant Black Stars coaching job.

On his Facebook page, Okraku noted that it would be a major surprise if Grant was overlooked, adding that the Israeli coach is a natural leader for the dressing room.

“From the long list of coaches who applied or showed interest in the job, three appeared before the search committee. These three were Avram Grant, Micheal Pont and Juan Ignacio Jimenez, formerly the coach of Rayo Vallecano. Clearly it’s an easy route for one person. From the above list of three, one will be surprised if the GFA can look beyond Avram Grant as he clearly stands tall on all fronts. We should be blessed that after all the years, we have finally been able to come close to naming a dream leader for our Black Stars. Why would Ghana look beyond the best amongst the 3 who were interviewed? We are blessed to have him in the final three and for once we will have a leader in our dressing room.”

Okraku, who is also the co-owner of first division outfit Dreams FC, also noted that Grant remains the most experienced of the three shortlisted coaches; highlighting his ability to manage big egoes.

“Clearly from the list of three, he is the most experienced, having coached in Israel, in England, in Serbia and in Thailand. Again he is the coach who has won many trophies as the main man. The most recent is the success he chalked in Thailand. Avram has coached and managed big name players and also players with big egos. Apart from managing the dressing room of the Israeli national team, Mr. Grant has handled Kevin Prince Boateng before, managed the dreaded Chelsea dressing room which had a lot of big players including but not limited to Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech so why can’t he manage the small dressing room of Ghana? Clearly he has a lot of experience in this regard and will be a great father figure for Ghana in our dressing room.”

The Proton Sports Limited chief asserts that Grant did better than the other two coaches in the interviews, adding that hiring the ex-Israel head coach would not come at too much of a cost.

“Avram is not like any of those two other coaches who he floored at the interview and who have not got his kind of experience and who have not achieved like he has, or who is not well connected like Mr Grant. Avram is an international football person, well connected, with a Polish, Iraqi and Israeli background. Why are we looking into the big bottle with the eye of a needle? Most importantly, Mr Grant is not here because of the money. He is coming at a very cheap and affordable fee. Clearly Mr Grant is the man from the Chosen three.”

The Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association is yet to decide on who becomes the substantive coach of the Black Stars, with Maxwell Konadu holding the fort in an interim capacity.