Being the coach of a reigning champion comes with added pressure with the over-ridding feeling being the expectation to win again and such is the script for Asante Kotoko coach Mas-ud Didi Dramani.
Having missed two successive matches in the Glo Premier League, Didi Dramani, who prepares for his debut premiership game this weekend will be facing a test of his team and himself as he assumed the reigns of the side that Maxwell Konadu guided to the title last season in training on Wednesday.
For the new coach, his stock has risen since guiding Ghana's U-17 women's team to bronze at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Azerbaijan 2012, the best-ever finish at a FIFA women’s competition by any women's national side and the furthest by any African side at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The pressure has already been building as his Kotoko team have picked two points after two consecutive draws this season but Didi Dramani feels no pressure as he strives to turn around the team's fortunes beginning with the clash against Heart of Lions.
“I am not under any pressure,” Dramani said. “I have never been under pressure to deliver and I will not be under pressure to coach Kotoko.”
“I have been a practicing coach at every level in the country. I have coached so many players who play for various clubs and the national teams.
“There are a number of players who have passed under my tutelage and so I don’t see where the pressure will come from.”
But Didi Dramani will be excused as he is yet to come to terms with the pressure of coaching at Kotoko, where success is a must. He will soon realize that the weight of expectation at Kotoko and that of the national team are not the same.
“Kotoko have not won their opening two games and naturally the supporters will be unhappy,” the Kotoko coach said.
For all the talent at Kotoko, Didi Dramani appears a man of principle, a coach who believes in the collective effort of the group in achieving results.
“But we have to work hard as a team to achieve results,” he said.
“When you have a team that plays well but failed to get results, it is better than playing abysmally to get results.
“The reason is that if the team is playing well but fails to pick maximum points, then you know you need to work on one or two things to inspire confidence in the team.
“But if they’re not playing well and things start going bad, you’ll be in trouble.
“I believe we will keep working hard and the positive results will start coming.”
Didi Dramani has said much but the coming weeks will prove how well he knows his team himself.