Ambitious Barreto not willing to settle for second best with Kotoko

New Asante Kotoko Coach Mariano Barreto has revealed he won’t settle for second best while in charge of the club.

The Indian-born Portuguese tactician was confirmed as the Head Coach of the Porcupine Warriors last week on a one and half year deal. The former Ghana Coach comes in with two assistants, Miguel Bruno (Video Analyst) and Pedro Manuel (Physical Trainer/Injury Prevention Coach).

The 64-year-old becomes Asante Kotoko’s permanent replacement for Coach Maxwell Konadu who was dismissed last year for poor performance.

In his first official interview with tge club, Mariano Barreto said his primary target while in charge to ensure his side becomes number one.

He explains that he would always want to win with his side giving their all and ensuring unrivaled discipline while on the pitch.

“Asante Kotoko have only one target… win, second place will be nothing for us. It’s the first of the last so it is a good challenge,” Coach Barreto remarked during an interview on Asante Kotoko’s CEEK Virtual Channel.

“I know my players… I had a short meeting with them. I gave them a message about what they need to do. They must fight each game. We will give everything we have on the field. We know in football we cannot win all games. But if somebody must win points from us it should not be because we didn’t fight,” he concluded.

Barreto took charge of his first training session on Monday and will be handling his first official match when the second round of the 2020-21 Ghana Premier League season resumes.