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The Japanese enigma turning Hearts of Oak on its head

Pulse.com.gh editor Godfred Akoto Boafo writes about Hearts of Oak coach Kenichi Yatsuhashi's system of rebuilding the Ghana Premier League club

Changing fortunes seems to be a gift for the Aichi born tactician who has turned Ghanaian football on its head with his all in, no secrets approach as head coach of Premier League side Accra Hearts of Oak.

His five months in charge have been enthralling and tempestuous in equal measure for fans, players and the management of  the club. This is a man a lot of people are struggling to figure out.

Is he a good coach who was underestimated? Is he riding a wave of adrenaline and luck that will soon run out? Is he sane up there? So many questions with so few answers in the offing.

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A few things are clear though. Kenichi relishes being an underdog .In fact he feeds off it like a vulture off a rotting corpse or a leech clinging onto a host and he uses it to inspire his players.

His pre-season culling of established players in the squad like Emmanuel Hayford, while rejecting big name signings irked fans to no end.  But that seemed to be the rallying call and the survivors are bound in a singular cause to prove critics wrong.

His players and colleagues love him because he goes the extra mile for them. A former player of his at BMCC tells it better than most. Yatsuhashi named Byron John the team's captain when he took over, a move John credits for his success.

"It gave me a lot of confidence and let me know where the coach was with me," John said.

"The biggest problem I'd had at previous colleges was the player-coach relationship. I felt that my relationship with coach Kenichi was a lot better and that gave me more confidence and propelled me forward.

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Current players of Accra Hearts of Oak tell the same stories. How many clubs would take a risk on signing Mustapha Essuman? A midfielder considered past his prime and looking for one last pay day has become an essential cog in the machine. Young players like Cosmos Dauda and Isaac Mensah have stepped up and become useful.

It is a rare sight in the domestic Ghanaian football space to find a head coach fighting for his colleagues. This is a dog eats dog coaching environment where scheming and back stabbing is the norm. That he chose social media platform, Facebook, to fight his battle might have been a mistake but his intentions certainly are to be applauded.

Yatsuhashi is no angel and perhaps that is exactly the kind of coach the Phobians need in charge at this time. Seven years of nice and conciliatory tacticians in charge has led to a barren spell that no fan of the former African champions would have predicted. A once abrasive, confident club had become a timid apparition that spent all its time fighting against itself as it sunk to even lower depths.

Not anymore if the events of the past months are anything to go by. A fire has been kindled in the belly of the beast and confidence is sky high. This was not achieved in the docile, respectful manner of coaches past.

Yatsuhashi  has dragged Hearts by the hair kicking and screaming up the stairs of recovery.

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This week will end with another chapter written in the legend of this enigma, as his team comes up against the great enemy, Kumasi Asante Kotoko on May 2.

Whether his time ends too soon or he is allowed to continue his chaotic rebuilding, the name of Kenichi Yatsuhashi is one that will not die anytime soon.

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