Chris Hughton struck a forlorn figure in his technical area as his toothless Black Stars side lost 4-0 to the Yanks of the USA in an international friendly at the Geodis Park on Tuesday night, and the defeat in Nashville has left many fans questioning whether he is still the right man for the job at the Black Stars.
The 64-year-old who took over as coach after Otto Addo resigned from his position as the manager of the side a couple of ago after a shambolic display at the World Cup in Qatar.
Ghanaians are yet to see a blueprint established and developed since he assumed office. He may have been forgiven for some of the failures. Just about everyone associated with the team accepts that the gaping holes in the team's squad were there before Hughton took the reins, after all.
But instead of winning hearts and minds and adapting to the higher expectations at the club, Hughton has failed to evolve; becoming further and further entrenched in his own defence-centric dogma. The impression given by his substitutions and post-match press conferences, particularly away from home, was the main aim was always to avoid defeat.
Merely playing for draws, though, has never been enough for a fanbase that yearns for more- and in some cases has witnessed success at the very top level. Diminishing ambition- even if it is difficult to meet that expectation- has never sat well for the Ghana football fans.
Nor should it. What has quickly become evident, even for those who deemed the former Nottingham Forest Manager's appointment as a necessary evil following poor performance s on the pitch during Addo's tenure, is the extent to which considerable frustration has started to set in on the terraces as he has been unable to progress Black Stars stylistically. This was apparent on Tuesday against the Gregg Berhalter's new look USA team.
It’s not just individual performances that need lifting at the Black Stars. The players seriously need a confidence booster during a tumultuous time. But now is when the going gets remarkably tough, especially for a manager who is still learning the various idiosyncrasies of the African game and who has not yet appeared in an AFCON tournament.
Hughton is a wildly popular character in the dressing room- his infectious smile and weirdly wonderful personality will do that- but recent results have not been good. With a congested sequence of games coming up in the months ahead, this is where Hughton needs to show why he is the ideal candidate to lead the Black Stars forward.
"If you ask me if I feel I'm the right person for the this job, the answer is yes." Hughton gushed in his post match pressed after the humbling defeat to the Yanks.
Having watched Chris Hughton since he assumed office, do you think he is the right man to lead the Black Stars to the Promised Land?
