It's a PFA Fans’ Player of the Month interview with a difference as Diomansy Kamara proudly receives February's prestigious trophy for February. The Albion striker has been in sensational form this season and already snared over 20 goals during Albion's promotion campaign. His partnership with Kevin Phillips has been at the forefront of Albion's resurgence under Tony Mowbray although the wheels have come off slightly in the last four days. A 1-0 defeat at local rivals Wolves left them entrenched in the play-offs and that misery was compounded last night as they slipped to a 3-2 home defeat against Crystal Palace. Givemefootball's Ian Clarkson was there with Albion supporter James Hammond to make the presentation to the Senegalese international. Despite his obvious glee at netting yet another award in an outstanding season, 'Joe', as he is affectionately known by all at the Hawthorns, is not fluent in English. So Clarkson caught up with Kevin Phillips prior to the clash with Crystal Palace – where the veteran striker notched another goal – to discover the success behind Kamara's goalscoring form.
Q:WHAT ARE DIOMANSY'S MAIN ATTRIBUTES?
A:Joe's got frightening pace and great dribbling ability and skill. He's got everything a modern-day striker needs. For a wily person, he's very strong. Joe's not physically massive, but everyday after training you'll find him working on his strength and power in the gym.
Q:HOW DOES HE TRANSLATE THAT INTO MATCHES?
A:He also works incredibly hard on the pitch. Our stats show he's one of the hardest workers around and that's tremendous for a centre forward. He's an all-round athlete – and all credit to him. He can create goals out of nothing for himself and set up chances for the rest of us. He's got great composure in the final third and can score all kind of goals. He can beat numerous defenders and stick it past the keeper or be in the right place for a tap-in.”
Q:WITH THE LANGUAGE BARRIER, IS THERE MUCH COMMUNICATION BETWEEN YOU ON THE PITCH?
A:I don’t think we've ever really spoken on the pitch! It's just one of those partnerships where we watch each other's movement and runs. Joe tends to go wherever he wants to. You're not going to try to pin him down to a certain position because that's not his game. He likes to drift everywhere. There's not a lot of conversation between us but we read each other's game.
Q:THERE IS STILL PLENTY OF COMPETITION FOR PLACES UP FRONT AT PRESENT ISN'T THERE?
A:Joe's been on fire and fully deserves his award. On a personal note, I've been very quiet for the past four or five games (although he did score against Crystal Palace last night) and I've not been up to the standards I've set myself so I need to get back to that and find some form.
Q:IS DIOMANSY'S POSITION UP FRONT ASSURED?
A:Joe has never lost it. He was tremendous again at the weekend. On another day, he would have had four or five goals. As long as he can keep producing between now and the end of the season, we'll also have Nathan Ellington back from suspension, so hopefully things will be looking strong.
