By: David Kyei

Date: 10-11-11

Coach Maxwell Konadu has told Kotoko Express that last Wednesday’s hard earned victory over stubborn Mighty jets would be better celebrated if it is dedicated to the fans who kept urging the players on when the going got tough in the cause of the match.

The coach who went into a serious pensive mood after the match was speechless for a long time and when he finally spoke, he explained that he was trying to replay the match in his mind to better appreciate the hard won victory.

Describing the match as the most difficult match he has so far played in the season, Coach Maxwell said he really had to think deep to be able to find a perfect strategy to unlock the iron-clad defence of Mighty Jets.

“They came with a strategy that saw them packing six players in defence to frustrate us and if we had tried to send more men forward, they would have punished us with a goal.

“What we therefore did was to contain them as much as possible, and make sure that we did not make a mistake to merit a punishment from them. My joy is that my players were able to do exactly what I told them to do and so I am not too surprised that we finally won”.

Per his substitutions, it became obvious that Kotoko was in no mood to share points with Mighty Jets and he rightly confirmed it by getting a goal not long after that.

“Nafiu has been a consistent performer lately and I am happy that he is getting into his elements. He is a serious asset that when he hits his peak will give us many playing options upfront”.

Right from the very first training session he had with the team as the head coach, he has been instilling a winner mentality on the players and he says he is happy that it is working.

“I am happy with my players because they have been putting into practice almost everything that we teach them. I have told them that playing for Kotoko is a different ball game altogether and so until the final whistle goes, any other result apart from a win must not be tolerated.

“They now operate on that winning mentality. We saw that in the match against Bechem FC and it has amply been displayed against Mighty Jets too. With this attitude, it will take more than hard work to defeat Kotoko”.

Having dispelled of the threat posed by Mighty Jets, he has asked his players to regroup today, to begin what he has termed a “No retreat, no surrender” preparation towards the seventh week pairing against Hearts of Oak.