Kingston's Ghanaian following makes Hearts the shout of Africa

Ewing Grahame
ON SATURDAY lunchtime, from Accra to Bolgatanga, from Kumasi to Tamale, Ghana's football fans will flock to their local bars in order to watch the derby which has gripped the imagination of the nation… Hearts v Hibernian.
The presence of national hero Laryea Kingston in the home side's midfield at Tynecastle has made the capital's clash compulsive viewing in Africa.

"Since I moved to Scotland, the Ghanaian people have shown a big interest in watching Scottish football," explained the 28-year-old. "They follow all the games in Scotland now and watch some of the games live in Ghana.

"Every game that is on Setanta live, they watch in Ghana so they will see the derby. They watch all the games and all my matches are on playback in my country so they know what I am doing in every game.

"I think it motivates me in some way, it makes it a little bit special. I'm far from home but people are watching me live. Immediately after games your friends will be calling you and will be congratulating you or they will be telling your mistakes and stuff.

"I'm particularly glad that my mum, Agnes Quacoo, can watch me."

Kingston's status in his homeland was underlined last weekend when he was voted the third-best player in Ghana. Chelsea's Michael Essien was the winner, with Inter Milan's Sulley Muntari the runner-up and the Hearts man is proud to be rated in their exalted company.

"Michael and Sulley Muntari are world-class players and play for two of the biggest clubs in the world," he said. "That's an advantage they have over me but I respect them as players and they respect me as well. It's a very big honour to be on that list. There are 24 million people in my country so you have to appreciate it when you are voted No.3. It is a very big award in Ghana and the players take it seriously."

Both Essien and Muntari will be competing in the last 16 of the Champions League come February and Kingston is anxious to emulate his compatriots' achievements.

"The Champions League is one of the biggest competitions in the world," he said. "If I have the chance to play there, I would be very happy."

It'll be two years next month since Kingston arrived from Russian outfit Terek Grozny, initially on loan, before Hearts paid £500,000 to make the arrangement permanent.

Now Kingston is one of many Hearts players being touted for a move during the January transfer window, and makes no secret of the fact he would welcome a move to a bigger club.

"There's a lot of speculation about me moving in January but obviously I am concentrating on my football and I don't think that's affecting me in my play or in my concentration," he said. "It is a positive thing in every player's life if a lot of clubs want you. It means that they appreciate your effort, they appreciate what you are doing and it gives you more confidence to do well."

Before then, though, comes the meeting with Mixu Paatelainen's much-improved side: Kingston can hardly wait.

"It is the same (type of] football, but the atmosphere, the pressure and everything else is different," he said. "That makes it more special. People put their life on these games so you don't want to joke. I love playing in those games. As a player, it makes you work hard and do everything you want to do."

Kingston arrived in Edinburgh the season after Hearts famously managed to split the Old Firm but he's refusing to make any such claims for the current team, even if they do manage to hold on to their best players next month.

"We are not thinking about catching up Rangers or Celtic," he stressed. "We are concentrating on winning points and then we see what happens. What we don't want to see is the teams behind us catching up. So we are just looking to get three points at a time and get the UEFA Cup place."

Taken from the Scotsman