Hearts, Kenichi part ways

Accra Hearts of Oak and their Japanese-American coach, Kenichi Yatsuhashi, parted ways Monday just days before the commencement of the second round of the Premier League.

A press statement signed by Hearts’ Administrative Manager, Mr Hackman Aidoo, said club accepted a request by Kenichi for a “mutual termination” of the technical services contract to enable him to attend a coaching course in India.

“The club received a request from Kenichi for a 25-day leave of absence to attend a coaching course out of the country. In that request, he gave the club the option to mutually terminate, if it found unacceptable his other option of leaving the position vacant until he returned.

“After a careful assessment of the option given by the coach, the Board of Directors concluded that it would be too risky to leave the club without a head coach for the length of time and the number of matches (5) that Kenichi would be away  .

“The club, therefore, decided to take the option of mutual termination and find a substantive replacement immediately,” the statement said.

A Director of Hearts, Mr Frank Nelson Nwokolo, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the board held a meeting with Kenichi at which it was agreed to part ways and also pay him two months’ salary for May and June, with the club not exercising their right to request the payment of two months’ salary by the coach in lieu of a two-month advance notice by the coach of his intention to resign, as contained in his contract.

He confirmed that assistant coach, Yaw Preko, will take charge of the Phobians while the club looked for a replacement for Yatsuhashi, who was appointed in October last year on a two-year contract. 

Preko’s immediate task is to prepare the team for the start of the second round of the league which commences on Sunday with fourth-placed Hearts playing host to seventh-placed Dreams FC in Accra.