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Focus on your goals, not your fear. Focus like a laser beam on your goals. ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
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Managing the senior national football team (Black Stars), is perhaps, one of the most hard-to-please undertakings one can ever imagine.
It is certainly not a job for the weakling. You have got to develop a thick skin (apologies to ex-Ghana FA boss Nana Sam Brew-Butler) to be able to survive the inexorable pressure that comes with the job.
Last week, head coach of the Black Stars, Charles Kwabla Akonnor held a news conference to announce a squad for a couple of friendlies where he virtually ‘badgered’ on the media to tone down on the attacks or stave off criticizing the team negatively.
“I’m pleading with you to stop the negativity. The negativity around this team is too much,” Akonnor lamented.
During my playing days, we used to receive a lot of encouragement from the fans and journalists. These days, things have changed. We need the support, so please tone down on the negativity.”
Indeed, the Stars have over the last few years come under an avalanche of criticism as regards their performance – Ghanaian fans not really enthused by the team’s failure to annex any trophy in close to four decades.
Much as one sympathises with the Stars’ coach, advice to him is to remain focused and rather keep his eyes on the ball. He must keep his eyes peeled and invite players who are in fine fettle and ready to serve the country.
As for criticisms, they would come in droves. They will come in all shapes and sizes. Some will be positive and negative; others downright ruthless. You cannot stop them. Even when you appeal to the sensibilities of the fans, some would still be at your neck – all-too ready to tear you apart at the slightest faux pas.
The good thing is that when the team starts churning out the desired results, the praises and laudations would flow in torrents. That is how football is; that is the nature and spirit of the game.
Akonnor should be guided by the above-mentionedpersuasion, work his socks off, pluck the results and he would surely get the fans behind him.
Last time the Stars clinched the Nations Cup Holy Grail was in 1982 – some 39 years ago when most of today’s youth were either not born or were too young to know what was happening.
It is the reason some of the youth easily get nettled even when the name of the Stars is mentioned. This is no joke. It is something serious we must not joke with. For many of them, they think the Stars have been over-pampered over the years with nothing to show in continental glory. That for them is a huge bother.
So, Akonnor must bear in mind that the criticism will continue to flow – some in horrifying taste; and he better psyche himself for the challenges ahead. What he desperately needs now is focus, focus and focus!
A philosopher once said, to conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles. Over to you, C.K Akonnor!
PlainTalk with JOHN VIGAH
General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong, has filed his nomination to contest the position of General Secretary again as the party begins its rebuilding efforts ahead of the 2028 general elections.
He was accompanied by party stalwarts and supporters who were in high spirits, expressing confidence that he is the right person to hold the position.
Speaking after filing his nomination, Mr Kodua Frimpong assured the rank and file of the party that he would not disappoint them.
“I can assure you that the faith the rank and file of the party have had in me, I will never disappoint them,” he said.
He also pledged to run a clean campaign devoid of personal attacks.
“I can assure you that our internal campaign will be devoid of personal attacks,” he told his fellow contestants and the rank and file of the party as he seeks to retain his position.
His tenure has seen the party through the 2024 general elections, where the NPP lost power to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) after eight years in government.
The party is currently in a rebuilding phase, with internal elections scheduled to elect new national executives to lead its reorganization towards the 2028 polls.
The General Secretary position is considered one of the most influential in the party’s administrative structure, responsible for the day-to-day running of the party secretariat and implementation of party decisions.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) has disputed claims made on social media by comedian Michael Blackson concerning the treatment given to his late mother, saying a review found that the allegations did not accurately reflect what happened during her stay at the hospital.
In a statement issued in Accra on August 5, 2026, the management of UGMC expressed condolences to Mr. Blackson and his family over the death of his 83-year-old mother, who died at the facility on July 16, 2026.
The hospital said it had taken the concerns raised by Mr. Blackson seriously and conducted a thorough review in line with its clinical and administrative procedures.
According to the statement, the facts presented by Mr. Blackson on social media contained “numerous inaccuracies” and did not accurately reflect the medical care provided to his mother.
UGMC explained that she was referred to the facility from another hospital and received treatment there from May 27 to July 16, 2026, a period of about eight weeks.
The hospital stated that it would not release details of her diagnosis, treatment, medical records or other aspects of her care because it had a duty to protect patient confidentiality, even after death.
It said the decision was intended to respect the dignity of the deceased and the privacy of her family.
UGMC further stated that all clinical decisions at the facility are made by qualified healthcare professionals based on medical judgment, established standards of care and the best interests of the patient.
The statement added that such decisions are made in consultation with authorised family representatives where necessary and that billing and financial procedures are governed by institutional policies and are separate from clinical decision-making.
The hospital noted that it values feedback from patients and their families and considers both positive and negative comments important for improving the quality of care.
Mr. Blackson had earlier used social media to criticise the care his mother received at UGMC, prompting the hospital’s response.
By: Jacob Aggrey
