Maxwell Konadu Appointed as Interim Coach for Ghana

Former Chelsea and West Ham United manager Avram Grant decided to step down from his role as the Ghana national team coach after a disappointing African Cup of Nations.

The failure to even secure a third place finish at the tournament – after a 1-0 loss against Burkina Faso in the third place play-off – has led to this exit for the Israeli coach. This has left in Ghana with the needed to appoint a new manager, but the national team clearly has a lot of time left on their hands. The next match for Ghana is not until June when they take on Ethiopia in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

For the time being, they have appointed Maxwell Konadu as the person in charge of the national team.Konadu already has experience of being in this role. He was appointed as the caretaker whenKwesi Appiah left his role as the Ghana national team boss in 2014. Furthermore,Konadu also has experience of coaching the under 20 and under 23 national teams for Ghana.

Aside from holding his position as the caretaker coach,Konadu will also remain as the team psychologist. Grant was always expected to leave the Ghana national team, as his contract was about to expire. Towards the end of his reign, relationship between Ghana and Grant substantially deteriorated.

Upon his exit, Grant claimed that he was reasonably happy with his achievements as the Ghana national team coach. However, fans may feel that he could have achieved a lot more. It is widely expected that the Ghana national team will be going in for yet another foreigner. Appointed as the national team coach only in 2015, Grant remained in charge of the team only for the 26 games. In doing so, he was in charge of the team for two fewer games thanKwesi Appiah.