German Hans-Dieter Schmidt has taken over from compatriot Hans Kodric as coach of champions Asante Kotoko in the third change for the Kumasi-based club since they won the league last year.

Kodric was surprisingly dismissed last week after Kotoko edged out Ivory Coast club ASEC Abidjan on the away goals rule in their African Champions League second round tie.

He had been appointed at the start of the year in place of Abdul Razak, who took the team to their first title in a decade last November.