Kotoko coach in dilemma

There is uneasy calm in the camp of league champions Kumasi Asante Kotoko following moves to get rid of Coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani less than a month after he led the club to win a record 22nd league title.

And just days after he failed to win a domestic double following Kotoko's FA Cup final loss to Medeama, it appeared the coach and his employers were heading for a divorce after the Kotoko management reportedly asked him to resign by today, July 22 or risk being pushed out.

Kotoko have been linked with a move for an unnamed foreign coach to take over the reins of the club as they prepare for continental campaign in the CAF champions League next season.

Kotoko’s troubled times appear to have worsened after Dr Sarpong reportedly tendered in his resignation as CEO and board chairman at the weekend.

However, this paper gathered that there were behind-the-scene moves by the Manhyia Palace to get him to rescind his decision.

His resignation came a few days after he led the club to Manhyia to present the premier league title to Otumfuo Osei Tutu, owner of the club, who advocated for some reforms in the club to ensure success on the field.

There has been uneasy calm about the coach's future in recent days, but it is becoming clear the SWAG Coach of the Year's days with the league champions are numbered and he is unlikely to be in charge of the Porcupine Warriors' domestic and continental campaign next season.

Close sources to the coach disclosed to the Graphic Sports that he was consulting his lawyers in the wake of deteriorating working relationship between him and the clubs management headed by Dr Kofi Kodua Sarpong.

Significantly, Coach Dramani was not on the technical bench yesterday when Kotoko played host to South African side, Mamelodi Sundowns in a friendly match at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, as his assistant, Henry Wellington, took charge of affairs.

Soft-spoken Dramani did not return phone calls by Graphic Sports yesterday for his reaction to recent developments over his future with Kotoko.

Close associates of the coach say Dramani, who joined Kotoko last season on a three-year contract, will not tender his resignation letter but would wait to be given the sack to enable him claim a severance package for the termination of his unexpired term.

The man, who guided Ghana's Black Maidens to win a historic bronze medal at the 2012 FIFA under-17 Women's World Cup, has been linked with a move to Old Akradie-based Right to Dream Academy, which has just started a novelty  football school for girls.

Dramani's predicament is similar to one suffered a decade ago by 'Golden Boy' Abdul Razak, who was given the sack by the Sylvester Asare Owusu-led IMC just days after leading Kotoko to the premier league title for the first time in 10 years.

By Maurice Quansah/Graphic Sports/Ghana