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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
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
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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