Hearts: ‘Papic was showing partiality and favouritism’ – Fatawu

Hearts of Oak players have accused coach Kosta Papic of promoting favouritism and selecting players based on likes and dislikes.

This, according to team captain Fatawu Mohammed, has been the root cause of the Phobians’ recent downward spiral in the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League.

Hearts have not won in their last four fixtures and the situations surrounding the team during this bad patch have seen Papic resigning from his post after just 77 days in charge.

The 60-year-old, as part of his reasons to vacate post, told the club’s board there is a division in the team and he had no hope things could change with him still in charge.

In a press briefing addressing issues surrounding the departure of Papic and some first-team coaches on Wednesday, skipper Fatawu confirmed that some members of the dressing room were unhappy with the coach’s management.

“What the boys said was about favoritism. Some players feel that they were ready and deserved to start certain games.

“Also, some felt that their mates return from injury and in no time get selection. They work hard and do not get the nod,” he stated.

Fatawu continued: “For example, a player will be out for one or two weeks and upon his return gets called up into the first eleven and so it caused a lot of confusion among the players.

‘’The players started feeling the coach was biased in his selection as it was only his favorites that got call-ups and this brought division in the team.

“His style of coaching was not getting us the result as he was fielding favorite players and not ones who were ready and fit to play,” Fatawu also noted.

Hearts are 11th on the Ghana Premier League standings and they play Ebusua Dwarfs at the Accra Sports Stadium.