Former Managing Director of Accra Hearts of Oak, Neil Armstrong Mortagbe, has openly shared his bewilderment over the team's underwhelming performance last season.
Speaking in an interview with Citi Sports ahead of the 2023/2024 Ghana Premier League season, Mortagbe highlighted moments of perplexity during the campaign.
Hearts of Oak is slated to face Real Tamale United on September 15 in the inaugural match of the upcoming season.
The Phobians concluded the 2022/23 season in 12th place, a result that fell below expectations, particularly considering their promising start.
The season saw the dismissals of both Samuel Boadu and Serbian trainer Slavko Matic, leading to the appointment of Assistant David Ocloo as interim head coach to oversee the remainder of the campaign. Ocloo was subsequently succeeded by Dutch coach Martin Koopman during the offseason.
Reflecting on the challenges faced by the team, Mortagbe commented, "I can only say what we saw from a distance and the performance just was not up to a level where we could challenge for honours.
“There was a time in the season where we were close to the top four (spots) but we seemed to slip away.
“I was confused at some point because I saw the players that we had recruited, I saw some of their performances in previous matches and then I saw some of their performances in subsequent matches and it begged a lot of questions as to why.”