Hearts have no business to sack Kenichi; must stick to the strategist

Kenichi Yatsuhashi truly merits the entire accolade for his transformation of Accra Hearts of Oak to suddenly become league contenders. He has proved himself this season; he has graduated as a leading coach; he has demonstrated his talent; he has showed he has the ability to manage a team and take it to the top; and he has a philosophy and he implemented it.

However, we forget too fast. Modern football is such that it allows beautiful memories to fade too quickly. It is just unfortunate that Hearts of Oak maybe willing to let such great achievements to be overtaken so easily by temporary setbacks. It is normal that coaches are sacked in the race every year. Coaches’ reputations are cluttered or, more uninspiringly, simply forgotten in the rush to taking decisions and overlooking the past.

Although, it is Kenichi who has been anointed to ginger the Ghana league this season, for some time now, a group of Phobians were adamant that Kenichi should be shown no mercy over his decision not to cooperate with management. Sack him, sack him, sack him, they said, one after another. We - media, fans and especially some club administrators - were all guilty of making hasty judgement of a foreigner who also is adapting to a new environment made of people with different culture and mentality.

Of course, most club administrators would have fired any coach with Kenichi’s attitude. Most club owners would usher Kenichi away. Most predicted, correctly, that Kenichi has no experience and would creak under intense pressure perhaps it is one reason why he cannot stand the internal pressure to meet his management for technical supervision.

Nonetheless, Hearts’ 1 - 0 away win over Berekum Chelsea on Sunday stopped the sack bleeding because anything other than victory would have lifted the opposition towards him. And yet it is still only a month ago that huge crowds at Tema stadium were singing praise, carrying Kenichi shoulder high, with some struggling to just touch the shirt of the Japanese, for his side’s dramatic 2 – 0 comeback at Inter Allies to win 3 – 2.

Kenichi on the day at Tema, mounted a thrilling title challenge. Sure, Hearts of Oak fell 2 – 0 behind, agonisingly disheartening at that moment, but what a day that was to be a Phobian fan. If they win the league, or even if they fail to gate crash the title as winners, the comeback would be one of the biggest unforgettable game of Hearts of Oak in football’s modern era.

Hearts have been playing terrific football, too. Kenichi is lucky he has a player of the quality of Mustapha Essuman in the midfield. The coach has made the most of his resources and played a pressing, high-tempo, attacking style that won plenty of admirers.

Many have realised that Kenichi has made the landscape different now. He has changed radically the team stamina and mentality. He has eloquently and touchingly breathed no air of defeatism. Kenichi’s fortunes cannot simply be watched in isolation. The long wait and uphill struggle for Hearts to regain its place among the elites is within a distance.

Some do not like Kenichi’s style. Some think he is too pleased with himself. Some distrust the way he fights for his staff. But those impressions are matters of opinion although none of them seemed to matter too much when Hearts now sit on top of the table.

However, the truth is that, the rumoured path Hearts of Oak officials want to tread to sack Kenichi is not an easy one to negotiate. They are searching for something they may never be able to find. They just want to put an assault on the title to sweep so many Phobian faithfuls away on a tide of melancholy and negativity.

The reality is that Hearts must know they could not be to the top by not outspending their rivals since Kenichi is winning with ‘low cost players’. They cannot win games by money. They are winning games by the stealth of the Japanese. They are winning by having a good coach and with a better strategy.

Hearts of Oak already has a fine coach and the best strategy is to stick with him. They must adapt to Kenichi. He must not be a bad coach when he is not winning matches and a fantastic coach when he is winning.

Certainly, Kenichi Yatsuhashi has already proved he has what it takes and Hearts of Oak has no business to sack him now. What he just needs is to be left alone to prove his worth.