Maxwell Konadu ready to push Black Leopards back to elite league

Maxwell Konadu has shared why he finally agreed to join Black Leopards after initially declining their offer.

The former Ghana assistant coach was unveiled on a three-year deal with the Motsepe Foundation Championship side and has been tasked with taking the club back to the DStv Premiership by the end of the season.

Konadu, 51, joins Black Leopards after a successful season in Ghana where he won the FA Cup and helped Nsoatreman FC qualify for their first-ever CAF Confederation Cup.

Reflecting on his decision, Konadu told FARPost, "The first one, the discussions didn’t go well, so there was a communication breakdown. I decided to join a small team in Ghana, and Mr Thidiela also decided to appoint a new coach. So it’s football, and it happens."

Despite the initial setback, Konadu was approached again by the club. "It was not a fight, so he [David Thidiela] came back the second time, and it worked, so that’s football. I was so happy when I had his call for the second time. So we decided to give it a try and see if we can really do our best to get the team where it deserves."

Konadu emphasised the importance of persistence in the industry. "You know, in this industry, it happens everywhere. When you have a team that wants your service, at least they come knocking at your door once, and it doesn’t work out. They come the second time then you sit back and think about it. That is why I decided to come because the owner of the team, Mr. [David] Thidiela himself with Chief [Thidiela], came knocking at my door for the second time in the past two seasons."

Konadu is eager to take on this new challenge with Black Leopards. "I am also ambitious, and I like new challenges. So I decided to consider the move here to Leopards," he said.

He acknowledged the club’s history and the difficulty of their current situation. "I know about the club, especially when they were in the elite league. Now that they are in the first division, they need to fight back, which is not very easy."

Konadu believes in the vision of the club's leadership. "When you have a leader that wants to get the team back to the PSL, I think we need to throw our support behind the team to try and fight. See if we can push the team upwards."