The Executive Board of Hearts of Oak have defended their decision to appoint Dutch trainer Martin Koopman at the beginning of the season despite sacking him later after unimpressive results.
The Phobians were without a notable coach at the end of last season following the departure of Slavko Matic and his assistant at the time David Ocloo who also departed after guiding the team to the end of the season.
The former Ghana Premier League champions later settled on Koopman who had an impressive pre-season campaign leading the team to big wins in the friendly games.
However, the team struggled under his watch in the 2023/24 Ghana Premier League season triggering some fans to question his appointment in the first place.
In a press briefing on Monday, the board of the club claimed Koopman ticked all the boxes compared to his competitors who all vied for the vacant coaching role.
"We went in for Koopman because we were looking for a coach with maturity and a coach with experience. He came up on top of the list of coaches before he was hired."
Meanwhile, Hearts of Oak have handed coaching duties to Abdul Bashiru on an interim basis. His leadership hasn't yielded impressive results having bowed out of the FA Cup and lost to Aduana Stars as well in the Ghana Premier League.
The Phobans who continue to seek the services of a substantive coach will be trading tackles with Asante Kotoko in their next game on Sunday, December 17, 2023.