Duncan Seals Deal With South African Side

Former Ashantigold, Coach David Duncan, leaves finally for South Africa to begin another phase of his coaching career with club side, Free State Stars, after signing a three-year deal with the club. The outspoken technical brain who spearheaded Ghana’s U-17 team to the finals of the 2005 edition of the Africa U-17 Championship has described his new deal as quite lucrative and one to inspire him to the challenges ahead. Duncan, whose arrival at Obuasi some two seasons ago aided in the transformation of a side that had become a sleeping giant since playing in the finals of Africa’s most prestigeous continental club competition, the Africa Champions League, left the miners when he was expected to stay longer at the mines. But Duncan told the Graphic Sports shortly after returning from South Africa that conditions in Ashantigold, especially in the last days of his two-year tenure, had detriorated that they compelled him to look elsewhere to secure his future. “The problems were there when I took over, but with the cooperation of the CEO, Mr. Kudjoe Fianoo, who had also taken his share of the frustrations, I chose to ignore mine and work. “But the last weeks were bad when we needed the support of the club during our continental campaign, especially in our match against JS Kabylie. They were too frustrating that the results we had were long anticipated. “It was clear that the club was no longer ready for some of us because obligations like the payment of bonuses had become a problem for the club and sometimes people were frustrated when we kept winning our matches”, he lamented. Comparing conditions at Ashgold, Duncan sees this new opportunity as a windfall, because aside his salary, the coach will be entitled to a percentage of all prize monies attracted by competitions that his new club will partcipate in. And in South Africa where clubs are inaundated by soccer competitions, Duncan is looking forward to exciting moments in his career. Free State Stars who qualified to the Professional Soccer League last season are expecting an improvement in their fortunes with the arrival of the Ghanaian.