Former Hearts of Oak head coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi is missed by the players of the club, deputy skipper Owusu Bempah has revealed.

The 46-year-old Japanese-American tactician was appointed coach of the Phobians in October last year on a two-year deal but parted ways with the club in June following disagreements with management.

Hearts are now fourth on the Ghana Premier League table with 42 points, the same spot they occupied at the time the Japanese-American coach left.

The poor performance has resulted in Sergio Traguil, who succeeded Mr Yatsuhashi, being reassigned to the junior team of the club, a development which is brewing tension in the club.

Bempah told Class Sport’s Hussein Hassan in an interview: “We the players and supporters of Accra Hearts of Oak have missed him very much. Even the media has missed him because Kenichi was entertaining us both on and off the field. But it’s all part of life; we must accept what’s happened and get on with life.”

“Yaw Preko is the new man now and we hope to hit the ground running with him. There are only three games left to end the season. The title will be very difficult to achieve, having gone six points behind All Stars but we can’t say we have given up. We will keep fighting.”