DAILY RECORD 🔵 Alexandros Kyziridis ‘doesn’t care’ about Hearts title cynics as he sends bullish message to rival
The winger has been a revelation since arriving in Gorgie in the summer but insists there’s lots more to come.
Ever since Alexandros Kyziridis swaggered into Hearts last summer confidence has flowed from the gallus Greek like ouzo at an Athens house party.
Whether it’s the trademark jinking runs in off the left flank, his spectacular goals or even just the cheeky smile that’s lit up Gorgie, Kyziridis has embodied the belief that’s coursing round Tynecastle right now.
The terracing chant penned in his honour to the tune of Spirit in the Sky – ‘Kyziridis is our 89, a Greek God he scores all the time’ – sums up what indeed has been a match made in heaven since his arrival from Slovaks Zemplin Michalovce. So when the 25-year-old claims he isn’t surprised in the slightest to see Hearts sitting three points clear at the top of the Premiership with a game in hand after 20 matches, maybe nobody should be shocked.
Or when he promises he WILL bust the 10 league goals mark by the end of the season, maybe opposition defenders should sit up and take notice. His style has screamed carefree since his arrival.
Yet just a couple years ago Kyziridis admits his mental state was so low he was close to walking away from the game. Out of favour at Hungarian side Debrecen and sent on loan to Slovenian minnows Mura, he hit a footballing low that’s hard to believe now.
He was at a crossroads – quit football or seek help. He did the latter. And Hearts are reaping the rewards. Ahead of the trip to Dundee, Kyziridis lifted the lid on the belief that’s seen him tear-up the Premiership so far.
And he credits one man more than any. He said: “My psychologist. Every player has his own way. When I was younger, I’m not talking about four or five, but when I started playing football, every time for me it was hard.
“There were times when I decided to stop playing football. And then when I decided to stop, I said, there are two ways – I stop or I will speak with a psychologist to help me.
“So, I was talking with a psychologist for two years, and he’s the reason that my confidence is so high. I now see in a different way football, the people, and everything. The world, actually.
“That was when I was in Hungary, at Debrecen. It was not a sports psychologist, it was a normal psychologist. He was Greek, but he was living in Sweden.
“I still keep in touch sometimes but not to say, my problems are blah, blah, blah.. He asks me how I am, if everything is fine, that’s all.”
Bolstered with that belief, Kyziridis is looking to add to his impressive goal and assist numbers when the league leaders head to Dens this afternoon.
He’s hit the net five times and laid on another six. But he wants better. And he knows by improving on those figures he will boost his side’s chances of producing one of the all-time Scottish football fairytales.
Yet, while sitting clear at the top beyond the mid-way point of the season might seem like the stuff of fantasy for punters, Kyziridis is taking it all in his stride.
He said: “That’s why I came. I have targets in my life, and I always want to win.
“I believe so much in this club. I saw the players before I came. I could say that I came here to help the team and to achieve our goals.
“At the end of the season, we’ll see what we achieve together
“To be fair I had the feeling that everything would be fine.
“But still, we have a long way to go, 18 league games and cup matches. As a winger, I always try to score and give assists – as many as I can.
“I said in the beginning, when I came here, if I scored 10 goals, and if I made 10 assists, that would be okay for my first year.
“But until now, it’s not enough. I hope that I will score more than 10 goals. I don’t think that everyone can believe it, because I have just three (in the league).
“But me, I can say that at the end of the season, I’m going to have more than 10 goals.
“Most of the defenders know that I’m going in and I’m trying to shoot. But even though they know, they cannot stop me. So, I will continue to do that.”
Kyziridis insists he doesn’t care what’s going on at Celtic and Rangers as he is laser-focused on keeping Hearts on top.
Martin O’Neill’s return to the Celtic hotseat has got Hoops fans believing again while Danny Rohl’s resurgent Rangers are now just three points off the Jambos having won their last four games.
But Hearts can strengthen their grip on top spot away to Dundee. And Kyziridis says he’s not worried about anything outside Tynecastle.
He said: “To be honest, I don’t care. My target is to win every game.
“I don’t care if I play against Celtic, or if I play against Livingston, with all the respect, I want to win.
“It doesn’t matter if they change coach, if they will change coach again, I don’t really care.
“I just look at my job, as a football player, help my team to play well, and that’s the most important thing.
“To win the games, we go every time game by game, and we will see.”
Kazakhstan international Islam Chesnokov could be handed a debut at Dens just a week after finalising his move from FC Tobol.
The winger is the latest Jamestown analytics recruit to bolster Derek McInnes’ forward line.
And Kyziridis has welcomed the competition for places. He said: “100% it’s good for everyone in the club.
“He played from the opposite side than me, as I see, because he did two training sessions with us. “He’s amazing. He’s a really good player.
“But even if he was playing on my side, it would be a very good competition for me.
“I believe that he will do really good things in the club. He’ll support us.
“I hope he will create chances for me. And I will create also chances for him.”
Kyziridis might be thousands of miles from his homeland but the winger insists he’s never felt more at home in a footballing sense.
A team that laughs together wins together appears to be the mantra.
And it’s working well for Derek McInnes’ squad whop get the business heads back on again in Tayside this afternoon.
Kyziridis said: “We have good players but the most important for me is to be first, good people, good guys.
“In my career, I’m 25 and I changed many clubs, I’ve never had a better dressing room.
“If the dressing room’s good, you can do many, many things. There are so many good guys. Good players as well.
“Who is the funniest? Shanks. No, there are so many. I can say five names – Beni (Baningime), Shanks, Spits (Blair Spittal), (Elton) Kabangu and (Claudio) Braga.
“This is important, to make jokes. When the training starts, everyone is serious – there are no jokes.
“But when we finish the training.. everyone can be an actor in this club!”