Pa Saikou Kujabi is planning for a successful season with Whitehawk.

Promotion from Vanarama Conference south is the aim for the Gambia international who joined the Hawks in the summer.

An FA Cup run would also be nice for an injury-savaged squad who are stuttering a little as they prepare to host Chelmsford in the third qualifying round today.

Kujabi knows all about the highs and lows of playing in the top domestic club cup competition.

The 27-year-old left-back played for Hibernian against Edinburgh rivals Hearts in the 2012 Scottish Cup at Hampden Park in front of a crowd of 51,041.

However, his afternoon ended in disappointment as he was sent off for a second bookable offence on 47 minutes for conceding a penalty which put Hearts 3-1 ahead and on their way to a thumping 5-1 win.

The day also effectively spelt an end to his Hibernian career. Although under contract for another season, Kujabi made only one more appearance for the club and was released at the end of the 2012-13 campaign.

After a break from football, having failed to secure a contract last season, Kujabi is pleased to be settling down with Whitehawk.

Kujabi told The Argus: “I am enjoying myself. It is a good club, with good players to be around. At the moment I feel good and I’m happy to be here.

“When I came here, I didn’t know Steve (King, manager) but my agent told me about him, how he works and what his plans are. We talked and I wanted to be part of it.

“I hadn’t played since Hibernian. I had a few try-outs with clubs which weren’t successful. Some were down to lack of funds, some were a case of ‘we aren’t looking for that’. I came here and it is going okay.

“Speaking to the players and seeing the way everyone reacts when we lose games, our aim is to get promoted. That is what everyone here is fighting for.

“It is a long season, we will have ups and downs but we are aiming to get promoted.”

The Scottish Cup final has left Kujabi with mixed emotions. He was a regular for Hibernian going into the game, having previously played for FSV Frankfurt in Germany, and finds it difficult to accept that things went downhill so dramatically after the cup final.

He said: “My first season (at Hibernian) was good but my second year was not a good experience because I didn’t play many games. As a football player you want to play, you want to be involved. If you are not involved in games, no player is happy so my second season wasn’t nice.

“I was proud to be part of the cup final but at the end of the day it wasn’t a good experience because I got sent off and because of that sending off I didn’t play anymore which was a bit of a shock but that is how football goes.

“I don’t understand why because you can be sent off in any game but I didn’t play anymore.”

Kujabi has previously had trials at QPR and West Ham as well as playing for Gambia.

Official records say he has won ten caps but the player insists he has more. A return to the international scene would be nice but for now he is just focusing on Whitehawk and hoping they can win tomorrow.

He said: “I’m proud to represent my country. I’m not playing at the moment because I wasn’t playing last year. I have been invited a couple of times but to be fair to myself it wasn’t right. When I go back to play for my country I want to give all I can.

“We are looking forward to the Cup. If you are playing in the FA Cup you always want to progress with every game you play. You want to be your best every game, you want to win and keep going until you are not there anymore.”