STRIKER Richmond Kissi has vowed to repay Redhill's support by staying with the club whether they are relegated from the Ryman League or not.
Kissi joined the Surrey club last summer, but was both a hero and a villain for the Lobsters in their debut season in the Ryman League – scoring 16 goals in the league alone but also picking up more than his fair share of suspensions.
The striker first saw red in the Lobsters' FA Cup tie against Thamesmead Town on September 14, but followed that up with another dismissal in a Ryman League game against Ramsgate the following Saturday.
That's where the striker's problems started.
"I probably deserved the red card against Thamesmead," Kissi admitted. "It wasn't malicious but I wasn't going to pull out of the tackle. But the decisions after that against me have been a bit silly.
"The Ramsgate manager at the time, Tim Dixon, had been giving me a bit of grief, so when I scored against them I said a few things to him. I wasn't shouting and swearing at people without being provoked – I'm not crazy.
"But I was sent off and the Ramsgate manager wasn't. I didn't think it was fair and I was discussing it was [fellow Redhill striker] Marcus Elliot on Twitter. I said a few things about the referee which maybe I shouldn't have."
The FA subsequently handed Kissi a six-game ban for his Twitter comments on top of the lengthy ban he was already serving for the two red cards.
Mike Maher stood by his striker, admitting the prolonged suspension was harsh, but with the Lobsters now facing relegation the manager concedes Kissi's time on the sidelines "disrupted" the team's season.
Kissi's cause was not helped by further red cards in the December 28 game against Merstham and then Easter Monday crunch tie against Sittingbourne, but the striker insists his reputation, which he believes is undeserved, is now preceding him.
"I've not got a reputation as a hot head and I think that is getting me silly cards now," the striker said. "People who don't know me are making assumptions. I'm not like that.
"I'm passionate about my football and I don't like losing, and when things aren't going well then sometimes the passion gets the better of me but I don't deserve all these cards."
Kissi will now no doubt face another elongated period on the sidelines at the start of next season after Easter Monday's early bath, but the striker has promised to turn over a new leaf.
"I love proving people wrong and I know I've got to learn from what has happened this season," he said. "I've spoken to Mike [Maher] and I want to stay at Redhill. Why would I want to go anywhere else? Also, they have stood by me and I need to repay that.
"I've just got to focus on the football; score goals, not say anything and go home."
