Former Asante Kotoko forward, Michael Osei ‘Ember Power’ has said that the Ghanaian powerhouse needs consistency and quality players to able to reclaim their glory days on the continent.
Kotoko, a recording Ghana Premier League winners, have struggled to perform well in CAF inter-club competitions in recent years.
It took the club a decade to progress into the group stage under current Black Stars coach CK Akonnor after achieving that feat in the 2008 campaign.
Keeping players for a longer period has become a major problem for the Kumasi-based outfit as they have signed almost 80 players in the last three seasons.
This according to Michael Osei does not help them to achieve consistency and teamwork.“During our time we had constant 22 players we were selecting the first 18 from. One problem at Kotoko now is we keep on changing players so there’s no teamwork and consistency in the team, ” he told Hello FM.
“We should have quality 24 or 28 players and know those who are our first eleven and those who will replace them if there is an injury. That’s what will make the team stronger.
“During our time those on the bench were even powerful. Whenever they were introduced you see results. When Arhin Duah, Charles Taylor and I start the game, you’ll see Shilla Alhassan and Frank Osei on the bench who were equally great players.
“So without consistency, Kotoko cannot get anywhere. Stephen Oduro, Arhin Duah and I were matured before joining Kotoko. We played for about four years and was no fluke that we played two finals in two years in Africa.
“Signing players who don’t even play six months is a waste of money. It’s proper to save that money and use it to buy one quality player who could play for at least four years. You just buy players, put them in hotels for the team to incur loses, meanwhile, you want the supporters to be at the stadium.
Osei concluded by saying “The players are not good enough to give you result but the supporters want victory always.”
