I’m solely in charge of player recruitment, not Odotei or Akanbi – Hearts coach

Hearts of Oak Head Coach Aboubakar Ouattara says he is responsible for the team's recruitment this year, refuting allegations that some top management members are involved.There has been a conspiracy inside the Phobian family, with top officials Vicent Sowah Odotei and Alhaji Akanbi allegedly involved in the player recruitment process.Some fans have expressed their dissatisfaction with the recent recruitment process, particularly with the club's falling fortunes, which nearly saw them relegated in the previous two seasons.However, Coach Ouattara, who assumed leadership of Hearts in the second round of last season, has denied any meddling with recruitment, saying that he had his own recruitment policy.'Both Odotei and Akanbi are not involved in recruitment. I have my recruitment policy where I identify my targets, do my research, and give them to my scouts to further evaluate the player.'I engage the players and tell them my plans for them, and by doing so I can know the good and bad side of a player and then make recommendations to the Managing Director of the club,' he said at a press conference.When asked about his plans for next season, coach Ouattara said the aim was to build a formidable team for next season.'The target for next season is simple; we need to have a good team for next season and play well and meet expectations of the fans.We are trying to get a good team for the next season, not replicating the performance of last season, where we struggled with relegation,' the coach said.Coach Ouattara also refuted claims that he was being moved to the technical director role at the club, maintaining that he was still the head coach.Hearts of Oak are expected to begin full pre-season training in the coming days ahead of the start of the 2024-25 Ghana Premier League in early September.Source: Ghana News Agency