Hearts player swaps position as former Jambos star changes ace's role amid 'surreal' achievement
The Hearts defender is spending time out on loan in Scotland.
Hearts central defender MJ Kamson Kamara insists ex Tynecastle winger Neil McCann is helping him through a transition to right-back at loan club Kilmarnock.
The 20-year-old joined the Jambos in the summer from Lincoln City after displaying potential during a loan to Northern Ireland’s Glentoran. He’s moved to Killie on a loan deal to build top flight experience, but amid a game against the Jambos and an extended international break, Kamson-Kamara has only played twice.
Both have been at right-back, most recently in a 3-1 loss to Rangers alongside beating Hibs away, with Killie boss McCann talking him through the new challenge. He said ahead of Saturday’s match with Motherwell that Kilmarnock enter bottom: “On Saturday against Rangers the manager was in my ear in the right way helping me with what I needed to do.
MJ Kamson Kamara on Kilmarnock loan
"The boys have been brilliant. I like the way the manager plays and his ethos. Coming into Hearts then coming here means there's been a lot of change. But I went on multiple loans at Lincoln so having to go into new changing rooms and blend in with new people isn't something new to me.
"When I go into a new changing room, I just be myself. If they like it, they like it. If they don't, they don't, but it's been all right so far. I knew Erik Ring, who I played with at Lincoln. He's a great lad and what a player.
Sierra Leone have also called up Kamson-Kamara on the international scene and he made his debut during the extended break before last week’s return to Killie. He said after matches versus Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea: "Sierra Leone have a scout in London. Kamara tends to be a Sierra Leone surname. They contacted my agents and asked if I was from there. It just came out of nowhere. It could have been a 'No' and that was it.
"It was actually something I'd always thought about. They'd been in touch last year, when I was at Lincoln and on loan at Glentoran. I knew something about it then but when I signed for Hearts they told me they'd like me in the squad. I was very nervous, especially as I had to come on earlier than expected.
What national team does MJ Kamson Kamara play for?
"But there are good guys in the national team who have played many games and they were all able to nurture me and help me. My dad was proud and my mum Silvi and brother Ezekiel managed to come to watch the game in Morocco, which was really good. It was an emotional moment seeing them in the stands. A bit surreal, too, but I enjoyed it.
"Before the camp they'd said they were bringing a generation of players they want to qualify for Afcon. The plan was to bring them together for the next couple of years. We had two losses and it felt like we should have got more from the game.
"It was a lot of travelling but I got over that quite quickly. The experience was brilliant. It was really hot and a different type of football but brilliant, too. You had to manage the game differently but the standard was good. We've a bunch of players playing at good levels. Hopefully we can get some points in the next camp."