Known by many as a mild-mannered and calm coach, Kwesi Appiah, received a lot of criticism from many Ghanaian football fans for seemingly failing to exert enough authority over the Black Stars players during his time in charge.
A number of people have argued that Appiah’s almost subdued demeanour on the touchlines is a reason why the Black Stars’ trophy drought continued during his tenure as coach, despite two separate spells as boss.
Many have speculated that this calmness on the touchlines often extends to the dressing room and this has contributed to player revolts and some periods of tension with the squad, resulting in the unsettled sides often falling short at international tournaments.
Appiah, speaking to Godfred Akoto Boafo on Citi TV‘s Face to Face, accepted that he prefers not to deal with issues on and off the pitch by having shouting matches and insisted that his way was largely more effective in dealing with players.
He argued that even though there are times were tough love was needed, it was more important to ensure the players get the right instructions.
“When it comes to coaching, it’s not the shouting or throwing of legs and hands on the touchlines that makes the difference. It’s important to send the messages across to the players at the right time. You can only send messages to the players when there’s an infringement. That’s the only time players will turn and listen to what the coach is saying,” he said.
“Your motions may not be having any effect on the players. If that were the case [Diego] Simeone of Atletico Madrid would have won all the titles because he does a lot of running and shouting and throwing of hands. The important thing is sending the right messages to the players.”
He added that some players respond very negatively to being called out in front of their teammates and react better when they are dealt with privately.
“If you are always shouting at them, I don’t believe you’ll get the results that you need. It’s important to humble yourself and show them respect but once in a while…
“There are some people who don’t like being shouted at, especially when they are around their colleagues. You need to find the means to get to them.”
The question of his pitchside demeanour came up in relation to the title of his new book: “Leaders Don’t Have To Yell”, which was obviously inspired by the talk surrounding his style of management.
In the book, Appiah spoke about a wide range of issues including his personal experiences and his time as Black Stars boss.
Watch the full interview on Face to Face below or jump to his comments on his coaching methods at 3:20.
