The former Asante Kotoko captain and prolific goal getter, Prince Adu-Poku, who was recently appointed welfare officer of the Reserves’ Team took office last Wednesday and he says he has his eyes set on making a bigger impact than he did when he was a player with the club.

In an interview with Kotoko Express at the Adako Jachie training grounds, Adu-Poku who says he has done a lot of search on the current Kotoko team and so knows what he would be doing here with the club, believes his appointment was a divine providence that is playing out in Kotoko.

He says football all over the world is changing and so it is now normal to see former players taking up important positions in their former clubs and the results are good for all to see and appreciate.

“As I looked at all these events happening around the world, I started praying to God to open a chance for me at Kotoko so that I could impact positively on the players. I know I have a lot to offer so I decided to make a move towards that ambition.

“I was however pleasantly surprised to know later from Dr. K.K. Sarpong that they had made that observation and had therefore resolved to adopt that style. That is why Coach Maxwell and Gordon Ablordey played important roles in the club’s last season.

“I immediately realized the hand of God in my coming to Kotoko. Now that I have been offered the chance, it will not be a honeymoon for me. If there were to be something like honeymoon, I had it when I was a player with the club. This period is for the rolling up of my sleeves to get myself working hard.

“Having been a captain and a player of the club before, I have accumulated so much experience and this is the time to give back for the benefit of the club. I am back Kotoko with a mission and vision,” he said.

 Explaining what he means by mission and vision, he said his mission at Kotoko is to serve as a motivator and inspirer of the players.

“As the welfare officer, I will be working closely with the players and through that, I will get to know them at first hand through that, share their joy, worries, pain and sorrows. I will give them a shoulder to lean on and from that win their confidence. It is when they win your confidence that they will freely tell you what’s going on with them and also share their innermost secrets.

“Through that, the bond will be strengthened and getting them to play above themselves to secure victory when things are tough will come in easily. With that mission, we will be heading to my vision of Kotoko having majority of her reserves team players getting promoted into the senior team and also getting to play in the various junior national teams”.

Much as he has this fine mission, he is not the coach and so was asked what his reaction will be if the coach does not give him the chance to implement his plans.

“One strong point I have is being a team player and so I do not have difficulty fitting into wherever I find myself. I acknowledge the coach as the boss of the team and me being a support staff for his plans. Respect is reciprocal and so when I give him all the due respect, it will not be difficult getting his backing to roll out my mission and vision”.

Concluding, Adu-Poku suggested that more attention be paid to the junior teams of the club because it is from there that we can get truly committed and full-blooded Kotoko players who will not only play for the club, but will also support it to victory.

“Go back into the history of the club and you will see that those of us who played for the Kotoko youth sides tend to be more successful at the senior side than our fellows who come into the senior teams from other clubs. It is important that as a team, we keep a tradition that can be passed on down to the generations even to the yet to be born”.

By David Kyei