AS HIS team-mates spend Sunday relaxing after the taxing journey to Aberdeen, Sol Bamba will be off on his travels, heading for the Ivory Coast's World Cup showdown with Madagascar.
The short hop from Edinburgh to Paris will be followed by a gruelling six-and-a-half hour flight to Abidjan, before he reports on Monday for a week of training ahead of next weekend's crucial encounter. But while Hearts boss Csaba Laszlo recently exp
ressed his misgivings at the toll long-distance travelling had taken on the Tynecastle club's Ugandan star David Obua, Bamba has no such worries, revealing he'll be going first-class all the way.
And that, he insisted, was nothing less than the Ivory Coast's star-studded side expect with big-name players such as Chelsea's Salomon Kalou and Emmanuel Eboue of Arsenal in their ranks.
The Hibs new boy said: "I'll be flying to Paris on Sunday morning and meeting up with the guys from London and elsewhere in Europe before moving on to Abidjan.
"It's a long flight but we'll spend it catching up with each other, listening to the iPods, watching DVDs and getting a bit of sleep."
Although Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen insists he has no issues with 23-year-old Bamba embarking on such an arduous journey – with a derby against Hearts to face on his return – the player himself admitted he understands the problems many managers have when faced with such a situation.
The 6ft 3in midfielder/defender said: "I know some managers wouldn't be happy to have players travelling such distances but everyone wants to play for their country, it is very important.
"And with the World Cup finals being held in South Africa, the first time they have been held on our continent, every African player wants to be there in 2010.
"Coming back is the harder bit, your legs are tired, but we will be travelling first-class both directions, which should make a big difference.
"It's a journey I have made many times and, when it was for our under-23 side, I would travel economy which wasn't great for someone as tall as me – you can't stretch your legs properly. All our big players such as Salomon, Emmanuel, and Yaya Toure are used to such treatment with their clubs so I think they have to really make the effort to keep everyone happy, top hotels, first-class flights and so on."
The Elephants, as the Ivorians are nicknamed, need just one point from next weekend's match to qualify for the next stage, a lengthy process which will eventually see the 53 African nations whittled down to just five for 2010.
But Bamba insisted they would be taking nothing for granted, Vahid Halihodzic's squad having already been dealt a blow by the knee injury suffered by Chelsea striker Didier Drogba during the Stamford Bridge side's Champions League match with Romanian outfit CFR Cluj. He said: "We drew away to Madagascar so this will be a very difficult game. We may only need a point whereas they have to win but our fans expect us to win every game, particularly at home."
Although he represented his nation at the Olympics in China during the summer, Bamba has yet to win his first full international cap, although he has been on the bench for previous World Cup qualifying matches.
Now he has his fingers crossed that he'll finally realise his dream, Halihodzic, coincidentally the manager of Paris St Germain who gave him his debut for the French club, having told him he needed to move from First Division Dunfermline to a higher level if he was to do so.
Bamba said: "I haven't spoken to the coach since the squad was named but he knows me and he's been true to his word as I've now moved into the SPL with Hibs. Hopefully I'll get to play some part of this game."
Before then, however, Bamba knows he and his Easter Road team-mates have a tricky away match at Pittodrie to negotiate against an Aberdeen side desperately trying to produce some semblance of form at home.
But after losing to Rangers last weekend, Bamba is well aware that Paatelainen's players are also under some pressure of their own in a month which will also see a derby against Hearts at Easter Road and a trip to Celtic Park.
He said: "It's a big month for us but that's why I came to Hibs, to play in such high-pressure games every week. We were very disappointed at how badly we started against Rangers, we were poor for the first 15 or 20 minutes."
Even so, as Bamba pointed out, Hibs did create chances themselves with only the head of former Easter Road midfielder Kevin Thomson preventing him claiming his first goal in a green and white jersey as he rose to meet a Derek Riordan corner.
He said: "I didn't score in two years at Dunfermline and it is something I dearly want to do. I thought I'd done it last week, I got a clear header, steered it away from the goalkeeper but, unluckily for me, it was knocked off the line.
"Now we need a good result for the team, for the fans."
And Bamba believes Hibs can turn up the heat on under-fire Aberdeen by taking the early initiative, something they didn't do against Rangers.
He said: "Aberdeen are, I think, under a bit of pressure, particularly at Pittodrie. If we can start the game well and perhaps get an early goal then their fans might get nervous and that could transmit itself on to the pitch.
"Aberdeen did well at Celtic Park and were perhaps a bit unlucky not to come away with at least a draw, but sometimes it is easier to play away when you aren't doing so well at home.
"They had nothing to lose in Glasgow, they were playing against the SPL champions, the best team in the league but they'll be under more pressure at home.
"Jimmy Calderwood had left East End Park before I joined Dunfermline but I heard plenty of stories about him, that he's a good manager, a very strong character but someone you'd stay away from when he was angry.
"I've spoken to him a couple of times, he's a good guy and, while he is under pressure, we need the result ourselves."
The return to fitness of Steve Thicot, Filipe Morais and Colin Nish will step up competition for places within the Hibs ranks, with Bamba hoping to retain his place having gone straight back into the side after the one-match ban which automatically followed the red card he received against Dundee United on his debut.
And now he is intent on repaying Paatelainen's faith – and to prove wrong those who raised an eyebrow at his £75,000 move to Hibs.
He said: "I've read some of the things that have been written about me but that sort of stuff just makes me all the more determined to prove I am a good player. The gaffer obviously thinks so or he wouldn't have signed me so I just use what's said in a negative manner to motivate me.
"The manager putting me straight back into the team after my suspension put me under a bit of pressure but it also raised my confidence and now I need to do well to show that faith was well placed."
Bamba also believes people need to remember he's been played out of position, preferring central defence to midfield. He said: "We've got Rob Jones and Chris Hogg playing so well in there that I will have to wait my chance. The manager said he wants to use my strength in midfield and, wherever he asks me to play, I'll be happy to do my best."
The full article contains 1318 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
