Ogum unveiled as Asante Kotoko coach, sets vision for club's revival
Newly appointed Asante Kotoko head coach, Prosper Narteh Ogum, has asked the support base of the club to bury their differences and forge ahead to build a strong team.
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At a ceremony in Kumasi on Monday to unveil the 45-year-old gaffer and other members of the club’s Interim Management Committee (IMC), the coach expressed his enthusiasm about returning to the club he led to victory in the Ghana Premier League two seasons ago. He challenged the Kotoko faithful to draw valuable lessons from the past, shaping a path towards a promising future.
During his first stint, Ogum achieved instant success as he led Kotoko to win a record-extending 24th league crown but surprisingly resigned five weeks after the club’s title glory after a disagreement with the club’s management.
Acknowledging the weight of expectation from the club’s followers during his newly-signed three-year contract, the coach emphasised the need for all the stakeholders to close their ranks for the success of the two-time African champions.
Vision
Setting his vision for the journey ahead, Ogum outlined a strategic approach with the first year devoted to grooming the juvenile side of the Kotoko team in order to raise a strong player base who would then take on the charge and lead the team to victory in the coming years. This, he stated, aligned with the Asantehene's aspirations to establish a sturdy base, reducing the need for substantial financial investments in player recruitment.
“We are not in a haste to push Kotoko to the top. We are building not only a team for this season but a team that will stand the test of time.”
“My first year is to put together a very formidable team that can compete both domestically and internationally. However, you can’t be at Kotoko and not think of bringing success.”
Ogum, also an assistant coach for the home-based senior national team, the Black Galaxies, acknowledged the inevitability of disagreements among club stakeholders but assured them of an opportunity to mend differences and unite as a cohesive force with a shared vision. This united approach, he emphasised, was crucial in restoring the club to its former glory, akin to the triumphant years of 1982 and 1983.
“This is the only way we can take Kotoko to the days of 1982, 1983 where the allies were no team in front of Kotoko,” Ogum said at the ceremony attended by other members of the IMC such as the Kotomponiaferehene, Nana Apimkra Akwasi Awua; Akwasi Appiah, a former Kotoko star and onetime Black Stars coach; and Emmanuel Newton Dasoberi, the club’s Administrative Manager.
Technical team
Coach Ogum introduced David Dickson Ocloo and Burton Wilson Asare as his two assistant coaches, describing them as competent enough to support his charge to lead the team to enviable heights.
“We all know these tacticians that I am talking about. They have done it everywhere they have found themselves”, he stressed, adding that all they needed was the full backing of the Kotoko fraternity.
Ocloo served as assistant to Ogum during his first stint with Kotoko but switched camp last season to take up the role of assistant coach of rival Hearts of Oak and later as caretaker coach of the Phobians following the exit of Serbian gaffer, Slavko Matic.
Barely a month ago, the Asantehene and sole shareholder of the club, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, appointed the IMC for Kotoko pending the restructuring of the administration of the club.
Among the tasks given to the committee is to ensure the club fulfils all the statutory requirements for the upcoming betPawa Premier League and prepare a formidable team for the 2023/2024 season.
