‘I’ve never been under pressure at Asante Kotoko’ – Prosper Narteh

Asante Kotoko coach, Dr Prosper Ogum says he is under no pressure at the club after his side defeated fierce rivals Hearts of Oak for the first time this season.

The first two games between Kotoko and Hearts of Oak this season, ended with the Phobians getting the better of the Reds after a draw and a win. Hearts of Oak managed a goalless draw against Kotoko in the Ghana Premier League first leg before winning 2-1 in the Presidential cup a week later at Accra Sports Stadium.

However, Dr Ogum got an important victory on Sunday, which sees the Reds closing in on the 2021/22 Ghana Premier League title. His club Kotoko has been hit with series of injuries saying referees should protect players.

“They don’t pick those injuries at training, the players picked the injuries during the League games so referees should protect them,” he said in a post-match interview.

The likes of George Mfegue, Yussif Mubarik, Andrews Appau and Fabio Gama had sustained injuries but returned ahead of Sunday’s game against Hearts of Oak with exception of Appau who is still sidelined. Mfegue, Mubarik and Gama started against their rivals with the Brazilian winning a penalty while Mubarik was substituted due another injury.

After Sunday’s victory, he talked about a potential pressure on him since he had failed to pick victory against Hearts of Oak after being appointed as head coach at the beginning of the season.

Previous Kotoko bosses who failed to beat their Premier League rivals have bagged enormous pressure but Ogum’s case in different stating he has never felt pressured at Kotoko despite lack of win against the Accra based opponents.

“I’ve never felt any pressure since I joined Kotoko,” he added. In Sunday’s victory, Ogum was relieved after Cameroonian forward Frank Mbella Etouga netted the only goal of the game for Asante Kotoko after converting early first half penalty.

Hearts of Oak midfielder Abdul Aziz Nurudeen impeded Brazilian midfielder Fabio Gama in the box. Kotoko are now 16 points adrift of their rivals on the Ghana Premier League table.