The man who has overseen one of the most exciting periods in Ghana football will get a phone call from Serbia that could set him on one of the processes he hates – the search for a national team coach or make him a relieved man. Milovan Rajevac, Ghana’s Serbian boss has asked for another week to clear up personal problems with his manager before decising whether to take up the offer of a contract extension proposed by the Ghana Football Association that will keep him as the coach of the Black Stars. Rajevac headed out of Swaziland after guiding Ghana to a 3-0 victory over the host nation to Serbia with no definite word on his future. Nyantekyie made the journey to Accra aware he may have to be doing a lot more travelling soon or go through a pile of CV’s in the nearest future from coaches keen to replace the Serbian. The search for a national team coach is one Nyantekyie, under pressure in recent weeks over a the rights and wrong of Glo’s sponsorship of the Ghana League and how it was secured does not want to do. With Ghana’s next competitive game due on October 10th, Nyantekyie says he would rather not have to go through the process of looking through the CV’s , rather not want to take what is bound to be the many phone calls from all the lobbyist and would rather not want to make a decision that could set back the rise of the Black Stars or take them many steps back. But the bigger reason he is not keen on another search process lies in the sort of effect Rajevac has had on Ghana. Two years ago when the Serbian was put in charge, it was a major surprise. He was largely unknown, counted basic UEFA Cup runs with runs with midest Serbian clubs as his achievement and had his back against the wall from the moment he touched down in Ghana. But he has won over the critics with every game, made the most out of whatever situation he has been faced with and turned himself from the unknown into a man in demand. So mostly wealthy Arab clubs have come calling some with offers of 1.5million dollars a year, KickOffGhana.com understand s as the bait. On Saturday night when rumours of the move to Saudi Arabia broke, my first reaction to play it down. Rajevac was resting in his room at the Royal Villas hotel so how could he have signed for another club in the same week? Afterall prior to arriving in Mbabane on Friday night, he had been with the Stars in Johannesburg all week preparing for a game he had told KickOffGhana.com he hoped will be the beginning of a long march to glory in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in 2012. He of course insist that he has not signed for the Saudi club, that he needs one week to resolve some personal problems including one with his manager before deciding whether he will stay on as the man in charge of Ghana. It is a fresh problem that no one in Ghana football wants but the threat of losing the Serbian looks bigger than ever before. Not once during the period of his stay in Johannesburg and Swaziland did he say or do much to give meaning to suggestions that even though he has received more lucrative offers, he would stay because of the opportunity to achieve great things with Ghana. It is a bit of a familiar situation for Ghana football after Ratomir Dujkovic also dillied and dallied after his stock rose on the back of the 2006 World Cup before falling for the weight of a Chinese offer to become their Olympic boss. Rajevac’s words suggest he is a man who could so easily take a similar path. Early last week he told KickOffGhana.com signing an extension was only a matter of time. “Officially I did not sign an extension yet. But we talked a lot, we have had a lot of discussions and we have almost reached a final settlement. But now the match (Swaziland-Ghana) is close and I want to sort it out afterwards. Everything will be okay though.” “Everything is going in the right direction and everything is going well but at this moment match is close and it is the most important thing for now. After the match I believe we will sort out everything in the right direction. On the evening of Ghana’s 3-0 victory over Swaziland in a Nations Cup qualifier, his tone changed considerably just before he sat in a meeting with Ghana Football Association big wigs to clear the air on his future. “I cannot promise anything which will be unrealistic. Now is not the moment to discuss it. We need to finish what we started and in the next moment we will know.” Maybe Rajevac is merely being human, holding out for as long as he can to ensure that he gets the best possible reward for his effort in taking Ghana to the final of the 2010 Nations Cup and the quarter finals of the 2010 World Cup. You can’t fault him that his head has clearly been turned by the prospect of earning more money elsewhere. Most mortals will do same but there is a reason people give their word. And he has so often until the week of uncertainty that staying on as Ghana coach was his first priority. It will be a shame if he walked. It will unlike what most people will make you believe not set the wheels of progress in the Black Stars back but it will slow it down. And at this stage, on the evidence of how he is painting the Black Stars into a masterpiece with every game, that will be hugely unfortunate.
Rajevac must back words with deeds now
