Laryea Kingston : I’m gutted to miss Lesotho game

GHANAIAN international and Heart of Midlothian midfielder, Laryea Kingston says he's livid that he can't feature in the Stars upcoming crucial World/Nations Cup qualifier against Lesotho at the Essipong Stadium next Saturday.

The former Hearts of Oak star told 90 MINUTES in an exclusive interview from his Scotland base that he knew all along that he was eligible to play the match as he was of the opinion that his accumulation of two yellow cards meant he was only a caution away from being suspended, till he got a call from Black Stars Coach, Milovan Rajevac.

“I was looking forward to joining my colleagues in Ghana for the match when I got a phone call from Coach Milo that I'm suspended, with the explanation that the new FIFA rules stipulates an automatic one match suspension for anyone who accumulates two yellow cards instead of the normal three,” he continued. “It's quite sad that I will be ineligible to feature in the match as I was looking forward to contributing my quota to help in our qualification especially after our loss to Libya.”

Talking about the match Laryea said Ghanaians should treat the match with all the seriousness it deserves lest we are caught off guard. “We shouldn't be complacent as Lesotho are capable of surprising us at our own backyard so we need the prayers of Ghanaians. But I believe in my colleagues and know they will rise up to the occasion.”

On his relationship with Coach Milo and the alleged indiscipline in the team, Laryea said Ghanaians should be constructive with their criticisms and rather give their backing to the team to succeed.

“Ghanaians are free to criticize us when we lose, but they should sometimes be circumspect as it tends to demoralize the players which can affect our performance and distract us from the job at hand. We need their support to give us the necessary confidence to win games but we cannot win all the time.” Continuing, the dreadlocked star said “I have an excellent relationship with Coach Milo and think we should be patient with him for him to succeed. He's quite tactical in his approach and given time, I believe he would deliver.”

Laryea, who played the entire duration of their 0-3 loss to Ghanaian compatriot, Prince Buaben's Dundee United on Saturday said before the match: “I'm looking forward to playing against Buaben as he's a fine player and also because I recommended him to the handlers of the Stars.” He also said they've finally been paid their weekly wages which reflected in his account on Friday afternoon.

“They said a technical hitch delayed the payments but even with that, we put it behind us and went ahead to win our game last week so it wasn't a problem. Everything is okay now.” Finally commenting on the plummeting fortunes of Accra Hearts of oak he said: “I've been following their performances and it's been my worry and hope they bounce back. I'm surprised they are not even playing in the Top 4, but I've spoken with some of the management members and they have assured me that they are going to put things right.” he concluded.