Ghanaians have taken to social media to react to the official unveiling of coach Chris Hughton in Kumasi on Monday.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion and Newcastle United manager has been in charge of the team since February 2023, following successful negotiations with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ghana Football Association.
Chris Hughton replaces Otto Addo who left the role after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament that took place in November/December last year.
In February 2022, Hughton accepted a role as technical advisor to the Ghana national team's coaching staff for the period of their World Cup qualifiers in March.
Hughton was appointed in the same role until the end of December 2022 alongside Otto Addo as head coach and George Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani as assistant coaches in May 2022.
The Ghana Football Association on Monday confirmed Chris Hughton has signed a one and half year contract as Black Stars coach.
The contract is subject to renewal based on his performance, and his assistant coaches, George Boateng, and Didi Dramani have also signed similar contracts with the Ghana Football Association.
According to reports in the local media coach, Chris Hughton is expected to earn $50,000 as a monthly salary
The Black Stars will be playing in Kumasi for the first time since, Friday, March 25, 2022 when they played out a 0-0 draw in the 1st leg of the FIFA World Cup play-off against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Ghanaians on social media applauded the coach's answers to questions and also urged him not to entertain any interference from the Ghana FA.
One fan slammed journalists for asking questions about one player. Others begged Chris Hughton to make football fans in Ghana happy.
Below are some of the comments:
Interesting that Chris Hughton says with the talent that Ghana has available, he could have named another 25-man squad who have never been involved with the Black Stars. pic.twitter.com/f6vSU4y0MH
— Saddick Adams (@SaddickAdams) March 20, 2023
Chris Hughton is a good communicator. Probably the best we've had in a while.
— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) March 20, 2023
We spent the whole of last year being told by football administrators that Ghana can win the AFCON and World Cup. Chris Hughton comes in and in his first presser says he “can’t guarantee anything” when it comes to trophies but he will build a team to compete.
— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) March 20, 2023
The @ghanafaofficial takes another short-term route to @GhanaBlackstars coaching issues as they hand Chris Hughton a less than 24-month contract. They clearly ain’t interested in leading us on a long term project. Quite disappointing but Chris must have our support. pic.twitter.com/xKFUzm31C1
— Jerome Otchere (@JeromeOtchere) March 20, 2023
wishing Blackstars new head coach Chris Hughton all the best 🇬🇭 pic.twitter.com/brikhhEZur
— Malik Ofori (@malikofori) March 20, 2023
Chris Hughton handled questions with a mix of tactfulness and candour. Of course, that's the minimum we can expect given his experience. He'll need that tact in a space where the job description of a coach is not exactly the same as what's globally accepted. Good luck, Chris!
— Victor Atsu Tamakloe 🇬🇭 (@AtsuTamakloe) March 20, 2023