Hearts of Oak have to play international friendlies - Ibrahim Tanko
Coach Ibrahim Tanko
• Ibrahim Tanko wants Hearts of Oak to play international friendly
Read full article• The Phobians will play Industriel de Kamsar in the CAF Champions League
• Coach Tanko believes most Hearts of Oak players have little exposure
Former Black Stars assistant manager, Ibrahim Tanko has advised management of Accra Hearts of Oak to organize a couple of friendly games to put the team in shape ahead of their CAF Champions League game.
The Phobians will be coming up against Industriel de Kamsar in the preliminary stages of the CAF Champions League on September 10.
According to the former King Faisal Babes player, most players in the Hearts of Oak squad lack exposure hence playing a couple of international club friendlies with negihbouring countries will prepare the players for the competition.
Speaking to Kumasi based Pure FM, he admonished the club to also needs to upgrade their goal-scoring department with good strikers.
Tanko said, “They already have a team but definitely they will need a striker who is sharp and good upfront for Africa.”
“I also believe the need to play international friendly games with neighboring countries like Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast because most of their players apart from Mohammed Alhassan, Caleb Amankwah, Afriyie Barnie does not have that international experience and these games will help give them exposure as they prepare for the task in playing in Africa.”
The former Borussia Dortmund player added that he is in constant talks with Samuel Boadu as he seeks to take over the continent having won all the domestic trophies this season.
“He is our colleague and we do talk frequently but not everything we discuss can be thrown into the media space and aside from that we are going to advise him.”
Hearts of Oak have already submitted their 30-man list for the CAF Champions League without one of their key players, Benjamin Afutu who was unable to reach an amicable agreement with management.
