Nuttall holding Hearts to ransom?

Accra Hearts of Oak coach, Frank Nuttall, appears to be holding the club’s pre-season preparations to ransom after demanding his return ticket from Scotland where he is currently on vacation with his family.

Nuttall’s posture has put the team’s Ghana @ 60 return leg match against Kotoko on December 24 in doubt as preparation for that game has stalled due to his absence.

The Scot is said to have instructed his assistant, Henry Wellington, to stay away from training the players until his return, leaving the players with no option than to cool off at home until they received the greenlight from Nuttall.

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But a board member of the club, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, is not amused by the coach’s ‘pure display of irreverence’ and wants him shown the exit for a more committed local coach.

“His relationship with the technical team is not good at all; he does not listen to suggestions and he is the type who, when he says something, it should be final,” Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe told the Graphic Sports yesterday.

Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe expressed his disappointment over the players’ refusal to train, stating that “I was at the team’s training session today and out of the 18 registered players, only four turn up for training.”

According to the board member, Hearts do not owe the players any outstanding bonuses and salaries, yet the players are demanding to see the money reflect in their accounts before considering reporting for training.

He blamed Coach Nuttall for negatively influencing some of the players and stated that Vincent Atinga, Thomas Abbey, Leonard Tawiah and Kwame Kizito had all refused to renew their contracts with the club due to the influence of the coach.

The former GFA boss said any decision to part ways with the Scottish trainer solely rested on the shoulders of the entire board but he would be the first to endorse the coach’s dismissal should any issue of that nature comes up.

In his view, the abysmal performance of the club in the MTN FA Cup final was as a result of the coach’s poor tactics on the day and wondered why he dropped Inusah Musah, who remained a pillar in the team’s defence, for Atinga.

Meanwhile, the PRO of the club, Kwame Opare Addo, has disclosed to the Graphic Sports that the coach is due to return this weekend to take charge of the club.