West Ham United goalkeeper Shaka Hislop wants his followers to know that he will like to fulfill the ambition of taking home an FA Cup medal but is not turning his back on Trinidad and Tobago as it prepares for an upcoming friendly against Peru at the Hasely Crawford Stadium
Hislop, the number one ‘keeper these days at West Ham, will go into FA Cup semi-final action on April 23 against Middlesbrough and if the “Hammers” progress it means they will be in the final scheduled for May 13 and this would force Hislop to possibly miss the match against Peru on May 10 .
The former Newcastle United shot stopper has explained that he would not mind missing the match against Peru. He was quoted as saying this in the English Press this week.
“I think everyone fully understands the predicament there is. I would love to see West Ham go through to the FA Cup and playing in it even if it means missing the match against Peru. I play every game to win even if it means the League game on the weekend or the FA semi final. I think people can sympathize with my position as far as that goes. It will certainly will be the icing on the cake as an own personal accomplishment and I’ll sure I will be back in Trinidad before too long to say a final goodbye and thank you to the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” Hislop told TTFF Media on Friday.
He also had no qualms over the naming of the 24-man squad by Leo Beenhakker and the timing of the announcement.
“The players who will be involved now know this so we can now sit back and maybe relax is not the right word but focus on what will be a big tremor for Trinidad and Tobago’s football,” Hislop added. He also commented on Clayton Ince maintaining his spot ahead of Fulham’s Anthony Warner.
“There were no question marks in my mind with regard to the team selection. Leo Beenhakker wanted to see who were the strongest 23 or 24 players he could get and he looked at all his options over a period of time. The fact that he went with Clayton is a big vote of confidence for a very talented goalkeeper who has been through thick and thin and who has not been recently involved with his club. But certainly now that he has been included ahead of another talented goalkeeper shows that Leo thinks the same way I do over Clayton’s availability,” Hislop ended.