YOU HAD ME AT HELLO
Beni’s Jerry Maguire moment as he signed for Jambos
AS great sporting soundbites go it wouldn’t be out of place in the Hollywood blockbuster Jerry Maguire.
Having just put pen to paper on a three-year deal at Hearts in the summer Beni Baningime boldly told Tynecastle chiefs: “I’ll make this club money.” A Scottish football variation on Rod Tidwell’s “show me the money” moment in Tom Cruise’s box office hit but Baningime’s words to sporting director Joe Savage carried the same weight of self-assurance. The 23-year-old Congolese midfielder’s belief has been backed up by a string of top performances and a win against Motherwell this afternoon will take Hearts top of the table for 24 hours at least. When Baningime was asked about the bullish prediction he made to Savage he said: “I did say that to be fair! “When I was at Everton and the other places I felt I did well but no-one gave me the chance. “That’s completely fine, there are a lot of great players at Everton. “In my head I knew if I am doing well there I am going to come here and hopefully I can get up and running. It’s not arrogance because I have to put in the work. “A lot of people think I am going to be gone very quickly, but I want to establish something here, do something special here. And then whatever happens next, happens.” Being blooded in an Everton side that contained Wayne Rooney, Dominic CalvertLewin and Gylfi Sigurdsson among others just a month after turning 19 meant he had to carry a swagger at a young age. He said: “Rooney was a big influence on me when I was younger. “Then he brought me in at Derby and I was grateful for that because it felt like nobody was going to give me a chance. “It was a difficult time at Derby but it makes me appreciate what I have here at Hearts.” Baningime reckons the example of Leicester City’s Premier League success in 2016 should mean nothing is off limits for Hearts. He said: “Europe definitely has to be the goal. Should we limit our ambition? Not really. Leicester did it. “It’s exciting. There’s a buzz around the place.”