Playmaker Laryea Kingston returned to Riccarton today after international duty and pledged to help Hearts win silverware this season.

The midfielder has had little time to relax during a hectic summer with Ghana having played four World Cup qualifiers but he met up with his team-mates today and can't wait for the new campaign to kick off.

"The summer has been very busy for me as at the end of last season I reported for duty with the international team," said Laryea.

"We had four World Cup qualifiers to play and things went okay. We lost one and won three matches and we are still leading our group, which is good.

"I haven't had much of a break as the last game was on the 22nd of June but I am used to that with international football.

"The new season is here now and I'm hoping to be free of injury and play week in, week out for Hearts. We must be looking to improve on last season which was no good at all for us.

"Hopefully this time everything will be better and that we can win something."

Having just stepped off a plane this morning, the Ghanaian star will ease himself into the pre-season programme under guidance from the club's fitness staff as he steps up his training programme ahead of the big kick-off.

And with the recruitment process for a new manager continuing apace, Laryea is looking forward to a new head coach being installed.

"It is up to Mr Romanov to decide who he wants to bring in," he said. "He is the boss but we are ready to play for whoever that may be.

"The players have missed being around each other and we'll all be working hard together to be successful next season."

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