I would swap lockdown in Florida any day to carry on playing for Kilmarnock
Finn loan star Hamalainen hopes extended stay can save Euros dream
LOCKDOWN life could be worse for Niko Hamalainen. Sunny skies above Florida’s Palm Beach form a warming backdrop to his solo training regime.
Eight years after leaving home, returning across the Atlantic has also granted an overdue stretch of extended family time.
It might sound idyllic but Hamalainen would rather be back in Kilmarnock continuing a season that pushed his career to new heights. On loan from Queens Park Rangers, the 23-year-old’s impressive performances had delivered international recognition from Finland — the country of his father’s birth — and the promise of a place at Euro 2020.
With that tournament now postponed for 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Hamalainen has been left to ponder what might happen next at club level, whenever football is able to resume.
His contract with QPR is due to expire this summer and the leftback admits there could be far worse options for his future than being back under Alex Dyer’s guidance at Rugby Park.
‘Right now, nothing has been spoken about going ahead,’ said Hamalainen. ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen.
‘If I were to come back to Kilmarnock, that would not be disappointing at all. Going there has been a big thing for me.
‘It is probably the first time I have had the chance to play every game during a season. To be playing in the top team. Training all through the week, getting my body right and mentality right to play game on game.
‘I also wasn’t used to playing in front of fans and everything has come together to improve me.
‘I feel it has matured me a lot. It has made me a man and a footballer. In my career, it’s been a tremendous step.
‘I have thought about a scenario where I might not ever actually get back to play for Kilmarnock in the future, but I try not to.
‘There’s nothing anyone can do right now, so I don’t want to think one thing or another.
‘At this moment, there isn’t even a date for returning because no one knows when dates will be, so I’m really without any idea.’
Hamalainen could have been closing out the final weeks of the Premiership campaign before preparing for the Euros.
The latter tournament may have shifted out of view for now, but he takes heart from knowing Finland coach Markku Kanerva rates his progress to date.
‘I wouldn’t say it was frustrating as regards the international situation because I did actually get the call-up to the senior squad for the March international games against France and Poland,’ said Hamalainen.
‘Although the matches didn’t go ahead because of the shutdown, it showed me that I’m in the door.
‘That has been said to me. If I keep playing well and if I keep doing well, I should be able to stay in the plans for whenever the Euros will be next summer.
‘It’s now down to me to keep playing week in, week out and at a level where the national coach thinks I will be ready to play for him. That needs to be my target in the next season.’
No one is sure quite when that will begin. In Scotland, a meeting tomorrow between the Holyrood government and football authorities could offer more clarity on the potential path back towards playing. All Hamalainen can do is await any developments from across the Atlantic.
‘I flew back home to America when football stopped,’ he said. ‘I came back to see family and, as a US passport holder, I was able to return as all US citizens could do so without a problem.
‘I’m back in West Palm Beach in Florida right now with my parents and my sister. In the morning, I train a little bit and all I can see is clear skies, sunshine and palm trees everywhere around me.
‘Things are slowly opening back up, but there is still plenty of lockdown, so the situation is kind of the same as the UK.
‘All of us footballers know just the one thing. To play. Every day that is our life, so this is all new.
‘The structure has gone, so the most important thing for me in that sense is to try and have a routine. To try and keep training.
‘Obviously, it won’t be specific speeds or what you would do with a squad, but I have my daily routine that I can stick to.
‘Everything has stopped in all of the sports. A good friend of mine who I grew up with plays in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks.
‘John Collins is his name and he is literally just playing FIFA every day against footballers as he likes the game. He’s just stuck at home. I want to make sure I’m still busy in some way.’
“My season in Scotland made me a man and a footballer...”