Heart of Lions head coach Bashir Hayford has claimed the NASCO Coach of the Month award for September, extending his trophy cabinet after masterminding a flawless start that briefly pushed the Kpando-based side to the top of the Ghana Premier League standings.
The veteran tactician guided his team through an unblemished month, securing three consecutive victories while scoring six goals and conceding just one, a joint league-high attacking output coupled with defensive discipline that reflected his tactical mastery.
Hayford beat out two highly respected contenders to claim the honor: Mas-Ud Didi Dramani of Hearts of Oak and Nurudeen Amadu, the 2023-24 league-winning coach of Karela United. The award marks another milestone in a coaching career that’s seen him win two Premier League titles but receive what he considers insufficient recognition at home.
Heart of Lions opened their campaign with a narrow but significant 1-0 home victory over Dreams FC, setting the tone for what would become a dominant month. They followed that with their most impressive performance, traveling to dispatch Eleven Wonders 4-1 in a commanding away display that showcased both attacking flair and confidence on the road. The Lions completed their flawless September with another tight 1-0 victory against Bechem United, maintaining their unbeaten start and asserting themselves as early title contenders.
For his tactical brilliance throughout September, Hayford will receive a 43-inch NASCO digital satellite television and a NASCO double-door refrigerator with a bottom freezer. It’s not his first monthly award this calendar year; he also won the honor for November 2024 during the previous season.
The September success represents vindication for Hayford, who’s spent much of his career feeling undervalued despite significant achievements. He masterminded a Ghana Premier League triumph with Asante Kotoko in the 2007-08 season and another with Ashanti Gold in 2014-15. Yet he’s repeatedly expressed frustration about what he sees as insufficient recognition in Ghana compared to how other countries honor experienced coaches.
“Other countries are making use of their experienced coaches, tapping their knowledge, experience,” he told JoySports earlier this year. “What I see here is they will allow you to struggle and get a job from somewhere and still watching whether you can do it or not. They don’t recognize your achievements, performance and experience.”
His coaching resume extends beyond club football. In August 2018, he was appointed manager of Ghana’s women’s national team, the Black Queens, though they were knocked out of the group stages at the 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. In March 2019, he took on the Somalia men’s national team role before resigning in February 2020 due to the ongoing civil war there.
Hayford has also handled Power FC, Medeama SC, Ebusua Dwarfs, and Legon Cities during his career. His experience spans decades, giving him perspective on what it takes to succeed at both club and international levels. Recently, he declared himself ready for the Black Stars coaching job if the opportunity arises, asserting that questioning his competency would be disrespectful given his track record.
Heart of Lions finished the 2024-25 season in second place, just three points behind champions Bibiani Gold Stars, after a remarkable turnaround from near-relegation struggles the previous campaign. Hayford has been clear about what cost them the title: insufficient away victories and too many home draws.
“When you are coaching big clubs, the aura is different from coaching a smaller club,” he explained. “So sometimes it’s difficult to win matches away as a small club. But for big clubs, you don’t fear whether you are playing home or away. I think that has taught me a lesson that I have to be wary of our away matches because if we had made some inputs in the away matches, I think we would have won the league last season.”
That lesson informed his approach to the new 2025-26 campaign, where he’s emphasized winning away from home as crucial to championship ambitions. The strategy showed immediate dividends with that 4-1 thrashing of Eleven Wonders on the road during September.
However, maintaining perfection has proven challenging. After their September dominance, Heart of Lions have hit a rough patch, drawing goalless with both Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak in consecutive away matches. They remain unbeaten but winless in their last two outings heading into Monday’s Week 6 encounter against defending champions Gold Stars.
Hayford acknowledged the difficulty following the Hearts draw: “I think we have done very well. It was a tough game, and I think my boys managed them. One point I think is enough. We have played away twice, and we have drawn the last two. We must make amends at home.”
The coach’s confidence remains unshaken despite the draws. When Heart of Lions temporarily topped the table in December 2024 during the previous season, he responded to surprised reactions with characteristic directness: “As a coach, it is my job to be winning and doing well. So I don’t know why it is surprising for people that my team is on top of the league. That is my job.”
His no-nonsense approach extends to handling pressure. During last season’s title chase, with just three games remaining and trailing leaders Nations FC by three points, he downplayed any tension: “I’ve gone beyond pressure because we said we didn’t want to struggle as we did last season and that is over but now we are contending for the league title so there is no pressure.”
After finishing second last season, Hayford attributed the improvement to one factor: quality coaching. “It’s all about quality coaching. For me, that’s my job. You can see the boys have improved,” he stated following their final day victory over Nations FC.
Whether Heart of Lions can sustain their early season form and convert it into championship success remains to be seen. What’s undeniable is that Hayford has transformed the Kpando-based club from relegation battlers into legitimate title contenders, earning monthly awards along the way even if broader recognition continues to elude him.
The September award adds to his growing collection and reinforces his status as one of Ghana’s most accomplished coaches, regardless of whether the football establishment fully acknowledges it. For a man who believes the only recognition he’ll truly receive comes posthumously through a “very big and nice obituary,” these monthly honors represent at least some acknowledgment while he’s still working his magic on the touchline.
Source: newsghana.com.gh
