Fyssas faith

“I cannot think like that. I think that I am fine, that I am feeling very good and that I will play fantastically,” says the 32-year-old back at his club’s training centre.

His manager vouches for the rejuvenating powers of his left-back’s ferociously positive outlook. “He has an infectious enthusiasm,” says George Burley. “Take Thursday morning, I got a message on my phone telling me that he was at the airport, that he was feeling fine and looking forward to seeing me in the morning for training.” Now, following Hearts’ first full training session since 11 first-team players left for international duty last week, Fyssas appears refreshed and ready to go. Everything he says is loaded with self-belief.

“Never stop, never be happy for more than one day; you win and you have to be happy for one day only, then it is the next game. That is my motto.” You suspect that this could be a man with many mottos. He makes a move by Rangers for Andy Webster, the Scotland centre-half, sound like a ridiculous proposition. “I like Andy Webster very much and I want him in the team because right now we are getting good results and there is no reason for him to leave this team. We are first.

” He tells of his evangelical powers back home. “All of Greece knows about Hearts now.” And he brings from his travels a cautionary tale ahead of today’s trip to Livingston where top plays bottom. “Greece played Kazakhstan, who have no points, they never win, and after 80 minutes we were losing 1-0. Before the match it was very difficult for us to think that we could lose. You have to remember, these teams play better against better teams.”

And eventually he is faced with the question all Hearts players are hearing these days: can they do it? Fyssas sidesteps to a tale that gives hope to those willing a third force to the fore of Scottish football while also reminding us of his pedigree.

“At training Mr (Otto) Rehhagel, the national coach, said, ‘Takis, you were a champion at Panathinaikos, you were a champion at Benfica and with Greece at Euro 2004. Now you are at Hearts, of course you will be a champion!’” He winces and puts his hands over his ears. “I don’t want to listen, but deep inside I hope it’s true.”

If that hope becomes belief then the Old Firm really will have a problem.

Taken from timesonline.co.uk