Hearts of Oak may be enduring a difficult spell and lost for the first time in the Ghana Premier League this season against AshantiGold on Sunday.
Their fans, however, remain absolutely confident in manager Samuel Boadu.
After ending their over-a-decade drought, expectations were high coming into this season but so far it has been disappointing.
The Phobians are nine points adrift the first position – occupied by sworn rivals Kotoko – because they haven’t won a single game yet.
Hearts drew blank in their opening match against Legon Cities, followed by a 1-1 stalemate at WAFA, another draw on Matchday 3 against Aduana Stars albeit controversial, and lost 2-0 to the Miners over the weekend.
The common denominator in all four games is they create glaring goal-scoring opportunities but the finishing has been lacking.
On Sunday, Patrick Razak was the guilty party as he squandered the best chance with the score at 0-0.
Razak found himself in acres of space in the box, rounded the goalkeeper but struck the post instead of putting the ball in the net. It could have been a different outcome had the ball gone in.
Ashgold made Hearts pay in the second half, producing a clinical second-half performance as they scored twice to secure three points and condemn the Phobians to the first defeat of the campaign.
With no win in four, the general impression is that Boadu may have lost his mojo and spark that made him so successful on debut season.
But Hearts’ fans in Obuasi showed their manager massive support after the game.
They carried him shoulder high, a clear indication that they haven’t lost a single faith in him and believe he will start winning games soon.
Before that, Boadu sounded optimistic in the post-match interview about turning things around.
“We have a long way to go, it’s not yet over. This is a competition so we are in it, we are pushing harder to climb the ladder. This is psychological. We need to psych them and move on,” Boadu said.
Meanwhile, he didn’t escape a question about his future. He answered without fear.
He said: “There is no pressure on me at all. This is the nature of our job, coaches are hired to be fired.
“So if the team is underperforming, I don’t think the management will be happy to see the team go down. If there is the need for someone to take [my] place and do well then so be it.”
Boadu was appointed in the middle of last season and guided the club to their first major trophy since 2009. They won the league and added FA Cup.
By Enoch Fiifi Forson|3news.com