Laryea Kingston ‘doesn’t have the heart’ to coach Black Stars – Mohammed Polo

Ghana legend Mohammed Polo has questioned Laryea Kingston’s readiness to take charge of the Black Stars amid reports linking the former midfielder with the vacant head coach position.

The Black Stars are without a permanent coach following the resignation of Carlos Queiroz last week.

Kingston has expressed his interest in succeeding the Portuguese, with the former Ghana international currently in charge of Uganda’s Under-17 side.

The 44-year-old previously coached Ghana’s U-17 side, the Black Starlets, but left the position after the team failed to qualify for the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.

His departure followed Ghana’s 2-1 defeat by Burkina Faso in the semi-finals of the WAFU Zone B U-17 Championship on 2 May 2024 at the University of Ghana Stadium.

However, Polo, a key member of Ghana’s 1978 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team, believes Kingston may not be ready to take on the responsibility of managing the senior national side.

“Laryea Kingston doesn’t have the heart to coach the Black Stars because he doesn’t have the heart. I don’t know why he left his job,” Polo told Citi Sports.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Sports Ministry have formed a five-member technical search committee to identify and recommend candidates for the vacant position.

The committee is expected to submit its report on Friday, 9 October, as Ghana begins the process of appointing a permanent successor to Queiroz.

The new coach will be expected to prepare the Black Stars for their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Somalia next month.

Reports indicate that the search committee is also expected to recommend an interim coach to oversee the Somalia fixtures before a substantive head coach is appointed.