Clevid Dikamona: 'I worried I wouldn't make it at Hearts - now I have so many memories'

Defender packing up his house after Tynecastle exit
Clevid Dikamona hopes to return to Hearts despite agreeing to end his contract early.Clevid Dikamona hopes to return to Hearts despite agreeing to end his contract early.
Clevid Dikamona hopes to return to Hearts despite agreeing to end his contract early.

Hearts find themselves one soldier down following Clevid Dikamona's early contract termination. The exit of this cult hero will be mourned by fans and leaves the club short of centre-backs if football does resume any time soon. It is somewhat ironic that Dikamona, the self-proclaimed "Jambo Soldier", initially feared he might not be good enough to make rank at Tynecastle Park.

Sitting in the stadium's main stand watching Hearts demolish St Mirren 4-1 back in September 2018, the defender felt a pang of agitation. He was in talks with a club demonstrating serious swagger atop the Scottish Premiership. Although Dikamona was an internationalist with Congo, he wondered whether he could make it in Gorgie.

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The concern was misplaced. He got into the team and quickly became a favourite among supporters, epitomised in a 1-0 win over Hibs at Easter Road that December. Agreeing to end his contract to save Hearts money amid the coronavirus shutdown illustrates a thoroughly decent human being - one who will happily sign again this summer if the club want him.

That early trepidation might now seem silly but it was very real at the time. Dikamona explained to the Evening News why he wondered about his ability to play for Hearts.

"The game I watched was incredible. The club were top of the league and unbeaten. The guys told me St Mirren were a low team at that moment but I saw the stadium was full," he recalled. "I thought, 'wow'. I said to my wife: 'Maybe I will not be able to play in this team because the level is so high. Maybe the expectation from the fans will also be high.'

"I was happy to sign and the feeling was amazing but I was also a little bit afraid. When you come to Tynecastle, you need to do well because the fans expect a lot from the players. I was afraid I would not be what the people expected from me."

Honesty

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He was more than they expected, even as a squad player. He didn't always start matches, sometimes he did not even make the substitutes' bench, but the 29-year-old was intensely committed. "On and off the pitch, I just try to be as honest as possible," he said.

"When I play, I try to give everything. You can't just do or say what people want, you need to say and do everything you can do. Maybe that's why people like me. I just try to be honest all the time in my job and with my family. That's it."

Dikamona's deal was due to expire on May 31 and losing him creates a void in central defence in the unlikely scenario that Hearts begin playing again before July. With John Souttar injured and Christophe Berra on loan at Dundee, Craig Halkett is the only recognised first-team centre-back at Riccarton. The expectation is that full-back Michael Smith would need to deputise in the middle.

Crazy situation

All of that is irrelevant for now. Hearts are preoccupied with surviving a developing human crisis which prompted owner Ann Budge to ask all employees to accept a 50 per cent wage cut. "The situation is crazy. No-one expected that we would stop playing football because of a virus," said Dikamona.

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"When they stopped the league and Ann told us maybe she would need to cut the salary, I understood the situation. It is not only a situation for Hearts. This virus will have an impact on all the clubs around the world, not only Hearts. She said we would have to cut salaries to save the jobs of everyone at the club.

"I can't say it was easy because every person has problems with money. We all have to pay bills. We spoke about that fact that maybe we will not pay football until June. I don't see how it will be possible to play football in May.

"My contract was finished at the end of May and the club asked us to drop our salaries. I'm not a Scottish player, I'm a French guy. I said I did not have any problem cutting my salary but I asked the club to allow me to go back to France now. We tried to find a solution with Ann and the club.

"I didn't say goodbye, even to my team-mates or the staff. I don't want things to end like that. I am a little bit sad. I am just waiting for everything to go back to normal. When everything is normal, I have the feeling I will come back for sure. But you never know in football. I can't say to everyone: 'Yeah, for sure, I will be back 100 per cent.'"

Memories

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He leaves with many vivid memories after 19 months in Scotland. "I remember my first game at Tynecastle. I came on against Motherwell a few minutes before the end. It was a cup game and the score was 2-2. The manager [Craig Levein] told me to go on and try to make a difference.

"I played a great pass to Steven MacLean, he sent the ball to Peter Haring, who played it wide to Michael Smith. Michael crossed for Olly Lee to score. The feeling at that moment was amazing because we had won the game. Also because the pass I made, I'm not sure I would be able to do it again. I think this was my highest point, but I can't forget the two games I won at Easter Road."

Dikamona and his family will spend time packing up their belongings before leaving their Edinburgh home in pristine condition. Then it's a long drive south, for the only way back to France is via Eurotunnel. "Right now, we are cleaning everything to make sure we leave the house properly," said the player.

"There are no flights or boats, so we must drive from Scotland to the south of England with our two daughters, who are seven and four years old. It will be a long, long road," he laughed. "Then I put my car on the train and travel to France.

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"All my family stay in Normandy and that is where we live. We all know everything is difficult just now but my wife and children made it easy for me. We are just hoping everything can be normal again soon."