Q & A with Laryea Kingston

Playing at the 17,800 capacity Tynecastle Stadium in Edinburgh has been more than a dream come true for the dreadlocked attacking midfielder whose rise to stardom has not been an easy one. His sojourn abroad has taken him to clubs such as Al-Ittihad of Libya, Maccabi Ahi Nazareth, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Krylia Sovetov Samara, Terek Grozny and Lokomotiv Moscow. Having been given the green light to resume training after a spell on the sidelines, the former Hearts of Oak midfielder shared his time with 90 MINUTES newspaper in an exclusive interview as he talked about what he loves doing best; FOOTBALL.

90 Minutes: Many thanks for your time. So how would you describe the 2008/09 season?

Laryea Kingston: You are welcome. I must say that the 2008/09 season has been the worst in my career as a professional footballer as I was plagued with a number of injuries throughout the season. It has been frustrating against the backdrop that I started the season very well compared with the previous one. This was a season that I had penciled down to get onto the scoring charts more often since I got about 8 goals in the previous campaign. This season, I had it in mind of getting not less than 10 goals especially after netting 3 in 8 games during the early stages of the season. But unfortunately for me, I got injured and that saw me miss many games.

How did your absence affect Hearts in the title race? The manager (Csaba László) did really miss me though it’s really difficult to measure my absence. I guess the look on his face summed it up. He told me his wish of having me free from injury for a whole season. It was clear that he had been saddened with me being on the sidelines.

Hearts finished 3rd behind Rangers and Celtic respectively. In your opinion, do you have the needed resources to challenge the Old Firm? I think next season is going to be difficult for us because we have lost 2-3 of our key players whom we are yet to replace. Despite the financial constraints the club is facing, the coach has built a young good team with incredible potential. I believe we would be ready for the challenge.

Talking about transfers, where does your future lie…. Are you going to move away from Tynecastle? Well, before winter break, I had numerous offers from other clubs but could do little about them since I got injured prior to the transfer deadline. At the moment, I have a season to play for Hearts and hope to play week in and week out without any injuries. My family is settled and I’m also happy with the contract that I have. I want to concentrate on helping the team win more laurels and hopefully at the end of the season, we would see what happens.

Now you have returned from injury, how do you see yourself getting back to the Hearts starting eleven? It would all depend on me being fit at all times to be able to guarantee my place as I always bring something different to the team. I do hope to have an injury-free period next season.

Now let’s talk about the Blacks Stars. With Appiah, Muntari and yourself absent from the team, we have won 2 games in a row. How to you assess your chances of getting your place in the team back? (Chuckles). Even though they are winning games in our absence, Ghanaians acknowledge the sort of contributions we make whenever we feature in a game. In every team, there are certain players whose contributions and experience during matches cannot be overlooked. Players like Appiah & Muntari are world class players with extraordinary capabilities and for me shouldn’t have a problem getting back into the Black Stars.

After winning two difficult games away, what would make Laryea an automatic choice for the Black Stars again? It is there for everyone to see the kind of contributions that Laryea brings to the team. Some of the fans show their appreciation to stuff like my pin-pointed crosses and my delivery at set pieces. As you know, football is now about making a difference in a game and in my opinion, I believe I possess such qualities.

With 9pts from 3 games, have we qualified for South Africa 2010 yet? I must admit that we are in pole position to qualify from our group but I guess we shouldn’t be complacent as anything is possible in football. We have three more matches to go and with the needed motivation and support, we would make the dream a reality.

You missed out on the finals in Germany due to a four-match ban at the 2006 Nations Cup in Egypt. How important will the finals in South Africa be to you personally? It would be quite important to me from a personal perspective because prior to Germany 2006, I did everything to see the team qualify but it really hurt not being there to participate in such an amazing tournament. It has always being a dream for me to exhibit my talents at such level and with the way things are going, I cannot wait for such an opportunity again. It would be a dream come true.

Milovan Rajevac came in as someone who could speak little English. Did the language barrier affect the team in any way? (Shrugs) Not at all! I don’t believe the coach does not speak English because anytime I speak to him, we talk in English. We have to understand that football is a universal language. He has got an interpreter who speaks good English and again, we have our own in Kwasi Appiah. Milo has done well so far and I think he deserves plaudits for how far he has taken us.

Do you think Ghanaians have been fair in their treatment of Stephen Appiah? It’s hard to understand what is really going on with respect to Appiah. For the fans, they would criticize you when things go wrong and praise you when things go right. For me, I’m less bothered because the most important thing is to get to the pitch and enjoy your game.

Laryea, so what’s so special about Appiah? Appiah is simply a terrific leader. He has the respect of everyone of us in the team and inspires the players a lot. I guess I wouldn’t be wrong to say he is the backbone of the team. It would surprise you to know that his presence on the field of play during games puts a lot of fear into opposing teams. To me, it is important to see him back in the Stars set-up.

What would Laryea Kingston be doing had he not been playing professional football? A Bank Manager. It’s a profession that I have always admired.

Would you consider coaching after you’ve hanged your boots? I love football so much that I wonder if I could live without getting involved in the game. I have already made provisions to attend some coaching programmes in November. (Chuckling)Who knows, I might be the Black Stars coach someday.

To your fans…. I want to thank them for the support and encouragement they’ve showed me throughout the years. They shouldn’t forget that they are the reason why I’m Laryea Kingston. :