Ghana’s champion club Kumasi Asante Kotoko must not bemoan their exit from the Confederation Cup but rather regard it as dress rehearsal for next year’s champions’ league. Kotoko at the moment have quite a youthful side and you could see that inexperience found them wanting at certain crucial moments when it mattered most.

The 2-2 home draw with Etoile du Sahel from Tunisia exposed some loopholes in the team, especially the knack to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses and the blatant missing of glaring scoring chances. Anyhow the 2-1 away loss to Merreikh in Sudan cannot be said to be a bad attempt. Let’s take it that it is all part of the toughening up exercise.

If management and supporters can keep their heads and maintain the squad, these youngsters who are visibly imbued with the fighting spirit of the Porcupine could be a force to reckon with next season.

The snag is that there is this strong temptation to sell some of these budding players but a good compromise could be found if the players are made to realise that it would be in their own interest to get more international exposure so that their value goes up. Management should consider the future of these players and avoid the insatiate love for the few dollars that would temporarily swell the club’s coffers.

It must also be made clear to some of these overrated and over ambitious young footballers and their self- styled managers that the Anthony Yeboahs, Abedi Peles, Michael Essiens and Sulley Muntaris are not everyday occurrences and they should be humble enough to bide their time.

Asante Kotoko are arguably the pace setters in Ghana football. They are blessed with the biggest following and they must be seen to be leading the pack from the front. Reports of petty board room wrangling and player indiscipline must be a thing of the past. It is hoped that the seeming power struggle between Coach Bashiru Hayford and management would be amicably solved.

If the coach is no longer interested in the job, he must be appropriately seen off, otherwise he should be given the conducive atmosphere to operate. This unfortunate pattern of certain club officials leaving the Kotoko fold in controversy must not be encouraged.

The clarion call of “Fabulous The Best” must prevail at all times.