Outgoing Hearts of Oak head coach Aboubakar Ouattara has expressed his disappointment over the club’s decision to appoint a new head coach without informing him.
The club officially unveiled Mas-Ud Didi Dramani as the new head coach on Friday, June 20, 2025, ahead of the 2025/26 Ghana Premier League season. Dramani, a former Black Stars assistant coach, signed a two-year contract with the Phobians, marking his return to Premier League coaching for the first time since his successful spell with Asante Kotoko in 2014.
However, Ouattara, who led Hearts of Oak for the past two seasons, has criticized the manner in which the club handled the transition.
“You cannot appoint a coach while another coach is still in place. It is a big administrative mistake,” the Ivorian coach said in an interview with Pure FM.
“If you want to bring in a new coach, you talk to me. But they completely ghosted me,” he added, clearly unhappy with how the situation was managed.
Despite being reassigned as Special Advisor to the Board of Directors following Dramani’s appointment, Ouattara believes the club's failure to engage him in the process shows a lack of professionalism.
Ouattara guided the Phobians to a fourth-place finish in the just-ended 2024/25 season, but his reassignment marks a sudden shift in the club’s technical direction.
