Hughton thankful for support after attack from fan

Hughton was accosted at the team hotel as Ghana returned from their upset 2-1 defeat by the Cape Verde Islands in their opening game of the tournament on Sunday but the angry fan was intercepted by security officials.

Ghana coach Chris Hughton said he was thankful for messages of support received after an angry supporter tried to attack him at the Africa Cup of Nations over the weekend but preferred not to dwell on the incident on Wednesday.

Hughton was accosted at the team hotel as Ghana returned from their upset 2-1 defeat by the Cape Verde Islands in their opening game of the tournament on Sunday but the angry fan was intercepted by security officials.

The 65-year-old Hughton was also subjected to a volley of a verbal abuse after the loss came from a stoppage time goal by Cape Verde, the smallest of the 24 teams at the tournament in the Ivory Coast.

“I very much appreciate the levels of support that I have had but in this press conference we are looking forward very much to the next game,” Hughton told reporters.

Of the incident he added: “It’s something that is very much in the past, it’s had a lot of media coverage so I thank everybody for messages of support but I think today is a day to look forward to a very competitive game that we have tomorrow.”

Ghana is up against Egypt in its second Group B match in Abidjan, needing a positive result on Thursday to keep alive its chances of advancing to the next stage.

The Ghana Football Association said it was backing Hughton despite the shock loss, which followed a similarly embarrassing defeat by the small Comoros Islands in a World Cup qualifier in November.

Former Ireland international Hughton, whose father hailed from Ghana, has been coach of the team since March, having helped them at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar as a technical advisor. His record is four wins from 11 games.