By: Jerome Otchere

Date: 13-07-11

Kotoko youngster, Obeng Regan, has admitted in an interview that he did not have an impressive time in the 2010/2011 season but he is not discouraged by that development.

He says he trained well and given the fact that Coach Bogdan Korak was always satisfied with his work rate and general conduct, he cannot be bitter.

According to Obeng Regan, his performance at training at the Adako Jachie training field and commitment to serve Kotoko should have given him a consistent place in the team.

That however did not happen, reiterating that he would not allow that development to negatively affect his focus and stay at the club.

“Looking at how I trained coupled with my readiness to play, I believe I should have played more matches” said Regan in out lively chat. The former Feyenoord midfielder joined Kumasi Asante Kotoko at the beginning of the 2010/2011 season. He was one of the ten players recruited by Coach Ebo Mends. Luckily he was not part of those who were transferred for many reasons including non-performance.

Regan played a total of four matches out of the 30 Glo Premier League games. He often came on as a substitute. His best game perhaps was the first round tie against city rivals King Faisal, who beat Kotoko 3-1 in that encounter but sadly ended up being relegated.

“After the King Faisal match, I received a lot of calls from friends and supporters who congratulated me. It was a game full of action, and shock. We were beaten and shocked because King Faisal took a commanding lead before we came into the game strongly” said Obeng Regan.  

The Kotoko midfielder disagreed with the notion that he was lucky not to have been transferred after the first half of the season, saying that no club maintains players because they merely want them to be there. “I can only speak for myself” he said. “I may not have been transferred for reasons unknown to me. What I am aware of is the fact that my performance is good; I am always willing to prove that” he argued.

Asked why he was then neither a regular member of the starting eleven nor on the substitute bench as often as he would have desired, Obeng Regan interestingly replied that his age and stature might have contributed to his low number of appearances in competitive matches at Kotoko.  “I think it is the fact that I am young” he stated with a quiet look on his face.

“Perhaps I am wrong but sometimes I felt that way” he added. Regan’s physique may not be one that many would admire but he is not a bad player a few times I have watched him. He had more to say on the issue of stature. “In football, you get better the more you train well and play. You can sometimes train well but if you do not play matches that will really test you, you cannot perform to expectation. It should not really be about how age and size” he argued.

Born in the early 1990s – Obeng Regan continued that he would not allow comments by some Kotoko supporters that he is too young to play for the club dampen his spirit. “I want to perform well at Kumasi Asante Kotoko. I do not have to be discouraged. This is my profession! I have to continue praying for God’s strength; wisdom to do what I know best. When I get the chance to play regularly I will silence all my critics” he said.

Just like other players I have interviewed on this platform, Obeng Regan, who has Spanish footballer, Pedro Eliezer Rodríguez Ledesma as his role model, spoke well of how Coach Bogdan Korak encourages him. “The coach likes me. He speaks to me and corrects me when I do something wrong. That makes me happy. It is that which urges me to work hard” said Regan.

The youngster has two more years to end his contract. He is however not leaving Kotoko – not even when he does not have more playing time.  “I am looking up to God” he told me. “I have to continue training well and praying. So long as the coach talks to me about performance and wants me to continue working hard, I know my time will come. I will not leave Kotoko because of this situation. I cannot tell what will happen tomorrow. I am concentrating my training”.