Newly appointed Hearts of Oak head coach, Mas-Ud Didi Dramani, has expressed his delight at joining the club ahead of the upcoming Ghana Premier League season.
The experienced tactician has signed a two-year contract with the Phobians, succeeding Ivorian coach Aboubakar Ouattara, who guided the club to a fourth-place finish last season. Ouattara has now been reassigned to the role of Technical Advisor to the club’s board.
Dramani shared his thoughts during his official unveiling at the club’s secretariat in Accra on Monday, expressing his readiness to align with the club’s ambitions.
“I’m honoured to serve under the reign of Accra Hearts of Oak,” he told the club’s media team. “I seek to understand the vision of the board, which shapes the club’s direction, and work towards establishing a clear, consistent, and sustainable pathway.”
“I intend to introduce a more progressive approach, building upon the foundations that have already been laid. Our task is to maintain consistency while enhancing the club’s structures, particularly through a more comprehensive technical programme that improves individual players and the team as a whole.”
He added that a strong technical staff would be central to this mission: “To achieve this, it’s vital to build a competent technical team. I have with me Gazale Abdulai, Najahu Issah, Peter Adu Boafo, Henry Mantey, and many more to join—because this is Accra Hearts of Oak.”
Dramani further appealed to the club’s leadership to continue backing the technical team in their efforts to build a winning culture.
“I would urge the board to continually support the technical staff in fostering a winning mentality within the club. That is a key element of the process which will influence both the short- and long-term objectives,” he stated.
Dramani brings with him a wealth of experience, having guided record league champions Asante Kotoko to back-to-back Ghana Premier League titles. The 59-year-old has also worked with the prestigious Right to Dream Academy and Danish top-flight side FC Nordsjaelland.
Internationally, he has served as assistant coach of the senior women’s national team, the Black Queens, and led the Black Maidens (U-17 girls) to a historic bronze medal at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan, defeating Germany in the third-place match.
More recently, Dramani was assistant coach to Otto Addo with the Black Stars during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and has also managed Ghana’s local national team, the Black Galaxies. He now turns his focus to revitalising Hearts of Oak, record holders of the Ghana FA Cup, who finished fourth in last season’s Premier League with 58 points.
