Csaba To Freeze Kingston Out At Hearts

Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo looks set to continue his preparations for the weeks ahead without turning to the services of Ghanaian midfielder Larry Kingston, despite the player now appearing to be fit and available for selection.

Csaba has publicly made his feelings on his player’s lack of dedication to the Hearts cause very clear over the past week or so, which has sparked predictable angry responses from Kingston and his agent. All the latter has done though is add more fuel to the fire rather than giving anyone assurances that dedication to club football is not a problem, and indeed it’s almost a case of Csaba being taken to task on his right to question a player for putting his national team ahead of the club that pays his wages. This is simply not on, and the manager has now had enough. He told today’s Evening News:

‘Larry Kingston did not play many games for us last season, he did not score many goals. We have played a lot of games without him and we will also play the next games without him. He is not in the squad tomorrow.

‘I concentrate on the team and winning games, I don’t concentrate on this. There will be time coming to discuss with the officials and then finish it. I told my opinion about this and it is now over my head.

‘I take the next step and I don’t lose energy for things that are not important. We will look at what we do, we will resolve everything internally. I said I need people who give everything for his profession and for his club. I am happy if somebody can play for his national team but I am not happy to hear that the club is not important.

‘We pay the wages, we do everything to help bring a good performance. If you play well for your club, you can always go to the national team. I think we must concentrate on what we have now. Our situation in the table is not the best and we need to collect points.’

Csaba did not confirm that Kingston has definitely played his last game for Hearts, but for him to become involved again in the near future, you’d have to think that something pretty major would need to happen in terms of his attitude, or perhaps even personnel changes in the manager’s office. Csaba is quite right to stand his ground on this and unless Kingston really is prepared to completely re-think his approach to club football, then there is surely no way back for him at Tynecastle.

What a sad waste of talent.