Obua vows to be loved by Hearts fans

BARRY ANDERSON
DAVID OBUA remains an enigma six months into his Hearts career. Sporadic glimpses of potential have failed to convince supporters of the hype surrounding this former South African Player of the Year, hence the jeers ringing in his ears.
Booing and ridiculing from Hearts fans reinforce the need for Obua to lift his game, but when questioned on the issue he is refreshingly candid and not at all resentful of his treatment.

Certainly a better gambit was expected when Csaba Laszlo se cured him on freedom of contract from Kaizer Chiefs last summer. Since then muscle injuries have been frustratingly persistent, form largely absent. Obua betrays a languid approach on the pitch which may have sufficed in South Africa, but Scotland is another world and acclimatising has not been straightforward.

However, the Ugandan is no shrinking violet. He has struggled amidst mediocre performances this season but fortitude and conscientiousness are there in abundance. Recent matches – the second half at Easter Road and Saturday's game at Kilmarnock – indicate a gradual improvement in his fitness and application, while public criticism has not affected his inner confidence.

"I know the fans will love me, I know they'll cheer for me again because I'll do my best for them," he says with a distinctive American twang, gained during a previous spells in the United Soccer League with Raleigh NC and Wilmington Hammerheads.

"Some of them are going to have their opinions. If you are in this business and you aren't doing well, supporters are going to give you stick. You have to take it like a man and I've taken it like a man. I don't relax and not bother because they are criticising me, I'm working tirelessly. Hopefully they can see that and they can support me with my efforts.

"In this game you have to take the good with the bad. Even the best players in the world get criticised. Diego Maradona was booed once, Ronaldinho (pictured] got booed at Barcelona and he was their top player. You have to take it positively. They don't boo you because they hate you, sometimes they are having a bad day and you are expected to bring them out of that. Some of them come (to a game] with other issues and you have to respect that.

"They are our fans and, even though they boo you, you must go out and win their hearts. Working hard is the only medicine for that."

Adulation came unreservedly to Obua in Africa. He is still known as 'King David' at Kaizer Chiefs Village in Naturena, the club's headquarters just south of Johannesburg. Before his defection to Hearts, supporters leaving the city had the opportunity to bid farewell to their hero, whose image adorned a huge billboard at OR Tambo International Airport.

He also still visits his former primary school, Kitante, in the Ugandan capital of Kampala and mingles with pupils in football games on the dusty school compound. Contrast that with current life in Edinburgh and the phrase "night and day" springs to mind. Obua admits to playing through the pain barrier while striving to convince the Hearts public of his worth. "I don't go out on the field to be lazy or anything like that. I've walked onto the field in pain sometimes but I've given what I can," he says.

"I went into rehab for eight weeks or so earlier this season but the muscle still hurts. It doesn't just heal immediately, especially in this kind of weather. You have to heal gradually. I'm getting fitter and the pain is going down.

"I'm not quite there yet, I still have a long way to go. I'm working extremely hard every day. My injuries have caused me a lot of trouble because I haven't been able to play. When you come back and the team is doing well, it's not easy to leave anyone out.

"The coach has to keep the same team until you get your break. I'm getting my break and I'm trying to do the best I can. I can become better and better with each week.

"Regular games is all I needed. It's just about me getting the time to play after my injuries. I've been out a long time in total and I did not have a good pre-season. All these things build up during the season so I'm just trying to get my body in the right shape. Another couple of games should be enough."

As well as the United States, where he studied at college in Tennessee before embarking on a professional football career, Obua has also graced the comparative backwaters of the Mauritian league with AS Port-Louis 2000. Factor in a spell with the Ugandan club Express and the reasons for the apparent casualness on the field become slightly more obvious. None of the above could be considered a high-octane footballing environment, so perhaps his ongoing adjustment to the SPL is not surprising.

He gave a competent performance at Kilmarnock on Saturday but preferred to dedicate the 2-0 victory to others. "The win was for the fans who travelled in such bad weather, and also for Jason Thomson. He lost his Grandpa before the match and it took a lot for him to come out and play. It's so hard for a player in that situation but Jason played very well. He looked emotional at times but life is like that. We got the three points and dedicate them to him and his Grandpa.

"When you win games, future games become easier. Saturday was a crappy game in the first half but we pulled through. If this team stays together we can be one of the forces in the league."

Obua is similarly enthused by his international prospects after Uganda's CECAFA Cup final triumph over Kenya last week. National coach Bobby Williamson attained unprecedented praise for guiding the Ugandans to victory after selecting only home-based players for the tournament.

"Bobby is a legend back home," says Obua. "I called home and everybody just loves him, they are singing his name in town and everything.

"I know he's loving it. He's a great manager and the young players he has right now are going to help him a lot. We will definitely fight for Bobby.

"I told him I'm going to bring a Hearts jersey with my name on the back as a present for him."

That would likely prompt only a gruff response from the former Hibs boss. In any case, Obua must appease his existing detractors before seeking any new ones.

Taken from the Scotsman