Kyziridis reveals Greek hometown taken over by Hearts fever as '1000 people' following Jambos title challenge
The municipality of Skydra in Macedonia has been converted into a hot bed of Jambos support this season.
Hearts winger Alexandros Kyziridis says his hometown in northern Greece is buzzing with people now following the Jambos incredible Scottish Premiership season.
The 25-year old hails from the municipality of Skydra in Macedonia, about 40 minutes from Thessaloniki and roughly an hour from the border with neighbouring country North Macedonia. The town itself has a population of a little over 5,500 people and Kyziridis says a large portion are now keeping their eye on the Gorgie club.
“They are watching so much every game,” he said. “I can tell you that there is a thousand people and they are watching Hearts and everyone said, OK, go on. You can do it, but I'm just humble, you know. I just need to see it game by game, as I always say, and we'll see.”
Hearts continue Scottish Premiership momentum with 3-0 win away to Dundee United
The winger was speaking after his side’s 3-0 win away to Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday night. He scored from the penalty spot, with regular take Lawrence Shankland out injured, either side of a brace from Pierre Landry Kaboré.
“It’s such a big win, especially with these conditions,” said Kyziridis. “It's good to adapt fast and that's the most important thing is the team played really well and I'm really proud of the boys.
“To be honest it was really tough [the conditions], but I'm really happy that we adapted fast. Of course, Dundee were playing with ten men, but yeah, it was fun.
“A win is a win, even if you win one league game, it's just a three-points, that's what matters at the end of the day.”
The Greek winger’s converted penalty was his sixth goal in all competitions this season but his first since October and he revealed he was delighted to finally be back on the scoresheet. He also discussed forming a partnership with Kaboré as the squad continues to demonstrate strength in depth despite recent injuries.
“ I was waiting a lot [for a goal], especially last week when I missed two opportunities. I'm really happy and I will continue and we will see.
“He [Kaboré] is guy that needs confidence, and now I think he's in a good level of confidence. First of all, he's an amazing guy, and second, he's a top player. As much as we play together, we find solutions every time, and I'm really happy about him.”
On the competition for places in the squad, Kyziridis added: “It's good for everyone, man. There's a push, levels up. When you have so many good players, you need to push yourself to play every week.
“I think in our team, everyone deserves to play and sometimes I feel sorry for the gaffer, because he needs to decide. I'm not the guy who will decide, he's the guy who will decide. It's hard for him every week to see who's going to play and who's not.”
Kyziridis still taking seasons one game at a time and won’t be drawn on title challenge talk
Unsurprisingly, the Greek attacker wouldn’t be drawn on talk of title challenges. As has been the case with his teammates, they are taking things one game at a time and looking to keep winning.
“My opinion is to win every Saturday and at the end of the season we'll see what we achieve. I'm not going to say, OK, we're going to win the league. It's still 14 games. It's a lot of games, but we'll see at the end of the season.
“This is what we are trying to do every week. We try to win, and it doesn't matter if we play Saturday or Sunday or if we play the same day as Rangers or Celtic. Our target is to win every Saturday, that's all.”
The fixtures continue to come thick and fast and the Jambos are straight back to action on Tuesday night. They travel to Paisley to face St Mirren in their next Scottish Premiership fixture.
“I'm used to it,” said Kyziridis. “I'm used to Scotland. Every three days there is a game. It's OK. I really like it. You know, when you have a game on Saturday and then you play after two, three games. It's really good, It's tough, but me, personally, I like it.
“To be fair, before I came here, when I see the players and I see the team, because I was watching games before I signed, I said that, yeah, we can do something.
“From the day that I signed and I see the other options that we have. I always said that we can do something. But the most important is every Saturday to be focused 100 percent to give our best. What matters is to take the three points every Saturday.”