Vincent Atingah is happy with comparisons with Daniel Coleman but insists he has a lot of work to do reach the level of the former Hearts pillar.

The towering Hearts center back has been the toast of fans in the just ended GHALCA SIX competition having put his best foot forward in the central defense of the Phobians.

Atingah was pipped to the man-of-the-match award in the first game against Aduana Stars by Derick Sasraku and he missed out on the award again in the draw with Medeama. But that did not prevent him from putting out a yeoman's performance against Asante Kotoko in the semi-finals.

The defender scored the opener from the spot kick in the second half of the game with Kotoko and went on to beat Felix Annan again in the penalty shoot-outs. He was on target in the shoot-out defeat to Aduana in the finals.

And the fans have seen a change in Atingah's performances and have started comparing him with former Hearts hard tackling and no-nonsense defender Daniel Coleman.

"The fans have seen the very best, and if they say I remind them of [Daniel] Coleman, I will take that as a big compliment," Atingah told Facebook.com/accraheartsofoak.

"I am extremely happy with fans comparing my style of play to that of Coleman. He was a great defender and a loyal servant of Hearts, and there's a lot I can learn from him.

"I want to reach his level one day but to do that I have to work extra hard. The G6 has given me a lot of confidence because of the full support from the fans. I know the fans will cheer me and the team on even when we make mistakes and that allows us to play freely without fear."

Hearts were beaten in the finals of the GHALCA SIX competition by Aduana Stars, but Atingah says the team can take comfort from what happened in the same competition last year.

"We did not reach this far last year; I think we left after only two games," he said. "But we have come to the finals this year, and though we did not win the trophy, I do not think any team disgraced us.

"We lost only two games, and one was on penalties, so it was not a bad competition for us at all. I do not want to make excuses but remember we did not start pre-season as early as the other teams but we were still able to hold our own in the competition.

"We can only get better, and the fans should look out for more good performances from all of us."