Former Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham Forest and Brighton manager Chris Hughton has been presented to the Ghanaian public on Monday at a press conference in Kumasi. The 64-year-old coach signed a contract until the end of 2024 and was tasked with turning the Black Stars into a formidable force.Speaking to reporters, the son of a Ghanaian father and an Irish mother promised to build a team that would harness the potential of the country’s best players like Thomas Partey and Mohammed Kudus.”Partey’s roles for both club and country are different from each other. He’s not the type of player who goes and dribbles past multiple players. But he is important even if he doesn’t stand out. With regard to Kudus, he’s a player who can play in many positions.”It’s a beautiful sunny day in Kumasi and it’s Akwasidae too 🤩Black Stars head coach Chris Hughton and assistant coach George Boateng are in Manhyia already ✌🏽#BlackStars | #BringBackTheLove pic.twitter.com/MUhl0cbMYv— 🇬🇭 Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) March 19, 2023 Before he got to face the sports reporters, Hughton wasted no time immersing himself in Ghanaian culture. Upon arriving in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region, he attended the Akwasidae festival in Manhyia Palace Museum. The former Tottenham Hotspur left-back and first-team coach is prepared to have thousands of fans questioning his every decision, team selection or tactical idea. He also knows winning is the only right answer to all the questions and dilemmas.”We all want to see a winning team because there will be lots of questions about our style of football. Why is this player not playing, and why is this player playing? Are you too defensive? Are you too offensive? But ultimately, what we want to see is winning football. Let’s start with the correct preparation of the team, using the players to the best of their ability and picking a team that suits the type of players we have.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##The Ghanaian senior national team hasn’t won anything since 1982. Although the current crop of players and the high-profile coach offer a lot of promise, the former Republic of Ireland international says he makes no guarantees nor promises.”No coach can guarantee a trophy. No coach can sit at a table like this and guarantee you that. No single coach can do that. It starts with qualifications, and you can know what you can do but no coach can guarantee a trophy. So I think we as coaches start on the same level. To group the players, to start as a team, and to win football matches. I will be spending more time in Ghana. I will be watching more games. I am constantly being made aware of players who are doing well. I’ll be paying more attention to Ghanaian Premier League games because it is important that we have a strong national league.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7115776##Ghana FA communications director Henry Asante Twum confirmed that Hughton’s assistants, George Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani.”For the first time, the head coach and his two assistants will have their contracts running concurrently. What it means is that the contract that Chris Hughton has signed, and his two assistants have both signed the same contracts which will run until 31 December 2024.”Chris Hughton’s Black Stars contract ends on December 2024. pic.twitter.com/eTZA6frYju— Yaw Ampofo Jr (@Yaw_Ampofo_) March 20, 2023 Hughton’s first game will be against Angola in a back-to-back game in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers this month. Ghana will host the Palancas Negras at the Baba Yara Stadium on 23 March before travelling to Luanda for the reserve game four days later. With the Black Stars top of the group standings, they will try to keep the 2023 AFCON qualification intact. Victory for Hughton this week will see Ghana extending a three-point lead at the top of the Group E standings of the qualifiers.Ghana is currently 58th in FIFA’s rankings – with ten African nations ranked above them.
