Hearts of Oak after Kenichi; the way to go

It is an open secret that the departure of former Hearts of Oak Japanese trainer Kenichi Yatsuhashi has quenched the fire of not only the Phobians, but the engine that was driving the Ghana Premier League in the first round.

Spectatoring have been poor in the last three matches with only two clubs; Ebusua Dwarfs and Techiman City, still capable of commanding the support they started the season with.

The blow of Kenichi’s absence has affected the Hearts fraternity in such a tremendous manner such that only the doubting Thomas will argue about it.

Most of the fans have declined watching the Phobians at home to register their disagreement over the departure of the Japanese trainer.

Even though it was reported that Kenichi and the club parted ways on mutual consent due to his request to pursue a course in India, most of the fans I spoke to believe that he was forced out.

Many of the fans I spoke to indicated that the management of the club did not appreciate them as supporters of the club for the mere fact of parting ways with the Japanese.

They argued that the flamboyant Kenichi Yatsuhashi had succeeded in making them believe that their club can still be the great club they knew it to be only for that dream to be truncated along the line.

This has been the talk of town and almost every ardent follower and admirer of the Ghana Premier League will admit that the Kenichi factor has taken the shine away from the league especially in the second round. And the most affected club is the Rainbow Family.

But can we continue like that?

Will Hearts continue to wail like this till thy kingdom come?

Hearts fans must swim out of this trauma for the mere fact that you don desist from drinking water because your child got drown. No matter how hard we cry, we stop to blow our nose so Phobia must live again.

However, I think there is a way to go.

As a communication student and someone who believes in using communication to achieve the best results in any field, I think Hearts must adopt a communication model that will suit their fans to re-ignite their believe in the Phobian Glory. Hearts must live again!

A few days after the departure of Kenichi Yatsuhashi, a heard some Hearts of Oak communicators as well as management members singing new coach Sergio Traguil praises and hailing him as the next big thing the club has recruited.

The Chairman of the Strategy Committee had given hints of Kenichi’s departure when he granted an interview to Sikka FM in Kumasi insisting that Sergio had a better CV than Kenichi and that any of them that could not work with the other must leave.

The coach himself in his first interview said he is hailed as The New Mourinho in his country Portugal but plays like Pep Guardiola and that he will transform the team to play ‘tiki taka’ football.

Some communicators of the club swiftly jumped on radio and TV and started sending signals that they have the best coach ever in the history of the club.

They made him appear as the best ever even before his assumption of duty with some claiming the club played like Barcelona against Dreams FC which Yaw Preko was technically on the bench.

I knew they were all trying to strategically woo the fans to the stadium despite the departure of Kenichi but that was the beginning of trouble.

They ended up raising the bar for the fans to expect better football than they witnessed during Kenichi’s regime, and truly, the fans expected so. But did they see that?

Sergio Traguil has been on the bench in three Hearts matches now and all have ended in draws; Liberty, Kotoko (President Cup) and Aduana Stars.

After his first game against Liberty away at home, I personally told a board member of the club Alhaji Brimah Akanbi that they should quickly get the fans to understand that they have a new coach and that a new era is evolving which will take some time to gel, instead of ringing the tiki taka bell.

I sensed the danger because already the fans are unhappy with the departure of the Kenichi so if anything promised them does not materialize, then they will coil completely and the new coach will be under pressure. And that we are seeing perfectly.

Now, there is one thing Hearts fans must get straight; Kenichi is gone and only God knows when he will be back but the club is still Hearts. Whether they like it or not, it is not the fault of the players of the new coach that Kenichi left. So the best they can offer the club now is to rally behind them in these difficult moments.

How can Hearts play three home matches (Though the Liberty game was technically away) under Sergio, who fans are made to believe is a tiki taka man, with only three points from a possible nine? Obviously, something is wrong but this is the time the team needs the fans.

What I will suggest the Hearts management led by Odotei Sowah should do at this moment is that they must get a strong message, get a very affable communications machinery to carry the message to the fans to make them understand that a new day is born and it comes with its own challenges and that the fans must accept that the club has picked a new gear.

The fans must then push the new gear to find a proper holding and the club will obviously shoot to its original position.

Let the Strategy Management Committee and the communications team of the club work on the psychology of the fans and the Phobian Glory shall re-live.

My Speaker, Hearts will not DIE!