Sports News of Wednesday, 14 February 2018

Source: ghanasoccernet.com

'Stop resorting to 'juju' and hire a psychologist - Mintah to Asante Kotoko

Professor Kwesi Mintah Professor Kwesi Mintah

Former Black Stars psychologist Professor Joseph Kwesi Mintah has lashed out at Asante Kotoko for failure to provide a psychologist for the team ahead of their CAF Confederation Cup campaign but instead squander money on black magic.

The Porcupine Warriors have come under a barrage of criticisms following wastefulness during their 1-0 victory over Congolese outfit CARA Club in the first leg of the preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.

The Reds were awarded four penalties in the game but fluffed their lines in the first three ones until striker Yakubu Mohammed climbed off the bench to power home the fourth one to handed the side a slender advantage ahead of their return leg encounter in Congo.

Speaking to Kumasi-based Oyerepa 100.7 FM, Prof. Mintah excoriated the management of the club for holding too much interest in the use of black magic rather than resorting to a qualified psychologist to help the playing body ahead of matches.

"I sometimes wonder why clubs in Ghana behave in a certain way. A team like Kotoko doesn't have a psychologist to work with from the beginning of the league to Africa but waste money on unimportant things like Juju but that's not it," Mintah fumed on Oyerepa FM.

"The two most important structures in the technical aspect of football is a physical instructor and the last is the psychologist, and in between are the coaches but for a Ghanaian club like Kotoko there's no one like a fitness coach and no psychologist and that's why these results."

"Who builds the player's confidence after squandering one or two chances? Clubs have head coaches, assistant and welfare officers but no psychologist and when we miss all the chances like what happened last Sunday will always happen," he deduced.

Kotoko will play CARA Brazzaville in the return leg on February 21 and the winner on aggregate will meet the winner between Tunisian side Ben Guerdane and Al Hilal Juba of Sudan.