Nyaho Warns FA

Former Ghana Football Association chairman, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has urged the current administration of Ghana football to be guided by the areas of conflict that characterized the regime of outgone Black Stars coach, Goran ‘Plavi’ Stevanovic, in future contracts.

He said the Serbian’s conspicuous absence from the country meant he was unable to monitor and identify local talents, and said it must be a factor to consider in employing the next coach for the team.

In an interview with graphic.com.gh following the GFA’s confirmation of the cancellation of the 46-year-old’s contract with Ghana last Wednesday, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said a coach with Ghanaian background or knowledge of the Ghanaian culture should have the advantage once he met the qualification standards.

“We should not be ashamed to go back to Milovan Rajevac (who took Ghana to the final of the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola and the quarter-finals of the South Africa 2010 World Cup) because he will have a good understanding of the Ghanaian culture now.

“It would not matter where the coach comes from, and I think Marcel Desailly must be given some consideration as well because of the profile he brings,” the former Ghana Ambassador to Serbia said.

“What is important is that the coach will display competence, confidence and an understanding of the terrain he is coming into,” he added, insisting that “leadership without self-confidence is totally useless.”

He said the FA must scrutinize the coach thoroughly to avoid potential pitfalls that create problems for the team and their management.

He called the payment of a €200,000 signing-on fee for Plavi as unacceptable “when he applied for the job himself”.

Plavi’s dismissal came after weeks of reports that the Executive Committee had taken a decision to dispense with his services which the GFA initially denied, and Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said it showed “an awkward indecisiveness”.