Hearts problems blown out of proportion - Attuquayefio

Accra (Greater Accra) -- The head coach of Accra Hearts of Oak, "Sir" Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, said the perceived disagreement between him and the Management Board over the number of players the team has to keep for next soccer season has been blown out of proportion.

He said while the board feels that keeping the 41 players would overburden the club financially, he was of the opinion that the team has not reaped the full benefit from the players after spending one billion cedis in last year’s recruitment exercise.

The Board through its management gave the coach an ultimatum to submit a list of 30 players out of the 41 that was registered.

The coach told the GNA Sports in an interview that since training resumed early this year, attendance has been very poor and added that such a decision should be taken after the full compliment of the team is known.

Narrating his side of the story, the coach said prior to him taking over the reigns of Italian Coach Giusseppe Dossena as helmsman of the Black Stars, he had discussions with management on specific number of players he needed and how much the players were to be offered.

He said the idea was that since Hearts had won the Champions League and many players would want to be associated with the team, management could use that as bargaining chip to control the "market" price.

However, the coach said on his return, management had recruited 24 players, which later became a problem because the fans and other influential people wanted to see the new players thus forcing him to adopt the rotational selection of the players.

He said this accounted for the inconsistency in the team’s performance last season, which nearly caused them the title. In spite of the problem, coach Attuquayefio said he was happy to be with Hearts.

"I have received tremendous support from both players and supporters and I think I have been well treated than any other coach Hearts have had", he said.

The coach is scheduled to travel to the United States for a month's leave and while there, he would be attached to Rochester Rhinos, the current Champions in the States. On his vision for the club in the up-coming season, he said "my aim and philosophy is to win every trophy"