Ex-Hearts of Oak captain Amankwah Mireku has said that management cannot be blamed for the exit of quintet Joseph Esso, Benjamin Agyare, Christopher Bonney, Bernard Arthur and Abubakar Troare.
The club explained the five players refused to sign contract extensions after the expiration of their respective deals.
This means all of them were available for free transfers ahead of the new Ghana Premier League season.
Hearts fans have blamed management for this development but Mireku says it is not always the case.
”Management can’t be solely blamed for free players exit but sometimes the players decide against extensions but professionally I think management should always start early negotiations with the players if they need them,” he told Nkunim FM.
”Some of the players are ungrateful because players like Atinga, Kizito, Razak and co were all from nowhere but Hearts of Oak gave them the platform but later stood against extensions and left for free.
”Sometimes when players from nowhere join a team, they are sometimes treated badly and when it’s time for extension the players also consider how they were received or treated to decide the future.
”So it’s better for Hearts of Oak to check how they treat players especially those from nowhere.”
In another development, Hearts of Oak have extended the contract of goalkeeper Richard Arthur for three more years.
The club announced the extension of the former Elmina Sharks shot stopper on Tuesday, just few days after releasing five players.
Richard Arthur has been outstanding for the Ghanaian giants, keeping six clean sheets from 14 games in the cancelled 2019/20 Ghana Premier League season.
His performances earned him a maiden call up to the senior national team for the AFCON qualifiers against Sudan in March, but the double header was cancelled because of COVID-19.
