Topic Originator: Raymie the Legend
Date: Thu 22 Jul 10:51
SOL Bamba has reacted furiously to the decision by Hibernian to publicly reveal that he had failed to turn up for the club's pre-season training camp on the agreed date, leaving the defender's future at Easter Road in huge doubt.
The Easter Road side, who are currently in the midst of an 11-day tour to the Netherlands, have been denied Bamba's services so far but according to manager John Hughes the defender should have been back in time to play last night's match against ADO Den Haag. A statement was released on the club's official website yesterday which claimed that the player had been given special dispensation to arrive at the Dutch training camp on Monday. He has so far failed to do so.
Bamba was a member of the Ivory Coast squad knocked out of the World Cup finals after the first round stage and, although he did not play in South Africa, had been given time off to recover. But Hughes has expressed dismay that the player had failed to join up with the rest of the squad, with the club's opening Europa League qualifying match - against Maribor or Videoton - just one week away.
"I'm disappointed that Sol has chosen not to join up with the squad," he said in a statement released by the club yesterday. "I'm sure that many people will feel let down at his failure to attend the training camp. We have shown Sol a great deal of flexibility over the last year and it's frustrating that we will now enter the European arena without one of our experienced players."
The statement added that the club had not heard from the player while his representatives have been "unable to provide clarity on when Bamba is expected to return to training". But Bamba has railed against what he feels is the club's unhelpful stance. Not only is he unhappy at the details having been made public but he is also disgruntled at Hughes' refusal to accommodate his desire to have a longer break. Bamba plans to be back in Edinburgh this weekend and is prepared to face the consequences.
"I've had a whole of family and friends on the phone who have been worried something had happened to me after what they read in the newspapers," he said yesterday.
"To be honest, I'm angry about the way the club has gone about making this public. I have never cheated anyone at Hibs, I've always given everything for the team. The manager knows that, too. I tried to speak with the manager and the chairman to explain the situation. My agent also phoned them to ask if I could have some extra time off.
"Since last May, I haven't had a break and I wanted to take about three weeks off after the World Cup to recharge," he added. "I played something like 59 games for Hibs last season, plus the African Nations Cup and then in South Africa. Obviously, I didn't play at the finals, but I was training hard every day over there and before the tournament to make sure I'd be 100 per cent ready if I got my chance. There was a lot of travelling involved, too. We were stuck in an airport for two days in Africa and I didn't get back to Paris until 1 July.
"Hibs were expecting me to return to Scotland barely ten days later on 12 July.
"I don't know why they now told the newspapers I was supposed to back on the 19th. I never agreed to that either. I'm very disappointed in the way the whole thing has come out."
Bamba expressed surprise at the manager's stance, but insisted he had maintained his fitness. "I get back to Edinburgh at the weekend and I am looking forward to speaking to the club about everything that's happened. I've even been working with a fitness coach in Paris to make sure I'm 100 per cent fit when I get back. I'm a Hibs player and I'll come back and be ready to work as hard as ever for the club.
"The manager knows me - he knows that. They may want to punish me with a fine, but that's something we can speak about. I've done this because I think it's the right thing."
Speaking after last night's 2-1 defeat to Den Haag, Hughes added: "I have not read his comments. I will deal with it when he comes and I can speak to him face-to-face. I am not going to conduct it through newspapers. I will see him when he comes."
It's bloody tough being a legend
Ron Atkinson - 1983
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