Derby holds no fear for Fyssas

PAUL KIDDIE

HAVING played in some of Europe's most passionate derbies, the prospect of lining up against Hibs for the first time is not one which has caused Hearts star Takis Fyssas any sleepless nights.

After keeping his cool as riots broke out in the steamy heat of Athens as Panathinaikos went head to head with Olympiakos and coping with the cauldron of the Benfica-Porto showdown in Portugal, the 32-year-old remains unfazed as the clock ticks down to his debut in the Edinburgh derby.

"I know how important derby matches are and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's game," he said.

"I'm well aware how much it means to clubs to wins these games and I'm feeling very positive about the result tomorrow.

"I have played for Panathinaikos against Olympiakos in front of 75,000 crazy fans and also played for Benfica against Porto and Sporting Lisbon, games which also have intense rivalry.

"Crowd trouble spoiled some of the Greek derbies but when they weren't causing problems, the fans created a fantastic atmosphere.

"There was one game a few years ago against Olympiakos at their stadium when the championship was at stake.

"It was two games before the end of the season and the circumstances were terrible for the players as the winners took the title.

"They did everything they could to win and unfortunately it wasn't what I would call a football game. It was like animals fighting each other some times.

"I moved to Portugal from Greece and enjoyed two fantastic years there and am really enjoying myself at Hearts now and I know tomorrow is one of the biggest games of the season for the supporters."

The classy defender's first game in maroon came in the win over Dundee United the week after the Jambos' 4-0 hammering of their arch rivals in Gorgie.

The left-back had returned home to Portugal while negotiations continued over his move to the SPL, Fyssas jetting into the Capital to complete his move in the wake of his new club's resounding triumph. That was Hearts' first home game of the current campaign and signalled the launch of the Vladimir Romanov revolution in spectacular fashion.

Unearthed by the Baltic millionaire's extensive scouting network, Fyssas has made a key contribution as the league leaders sustained their stunning unbeaten start to the season, Wednesday's win over Kilmarnock stretching that sequence to an exceptional 12 matches.

Edgar Jankauskas was the difference between the sides in midweek, the giant Lithuanian steering home his second league goal of the season to set the scene perfectly for Easter Road as the managerless Jambos head across the Capital.

The win over Jim Jefferies' side proved Hearts are in no mood to buckle under the strain of losing George Burley in such dramatic fashion last weekend with interim boss John McGlynn, pictured, garnering maximum points from the two games following his unexpected exit.

Fyssas has seen such managerial upheaval before and adopts a philosophical attitude to the incredible goings on in Gorgie.

"I have seen a lot in my career as a professional and this kind of thing has happened before in Greece," he said. "There was one year when I went through four coaches in the one season so I am used to this sort of thing happening in the game.

"For the players it wasn't such a good situation. We don't know what happened but we have experienced players in the team and we can now take these two wins this week into tomorrow's match with confidence. We belong to this club and have a responsibility to play for the club. People talk about how it was Mr Romanov who brought me to Tynecastle and that is correct and I respect him a lot. But I also had a great respect for George Burley, who accepted me into the team. He spoke very highly of what I've done in my career, I gave everything for him and now I wait to give everything for the new manager.

"That is my job and we have to believe in the decision of the president and keep going."

Although there was little likelihood of McGlynn's players allowing their thoughts to drift towards Leith prior to taking on Kilmarnock, Fyssas helped drum home the message to his team-mates that the priority was taking care of business on Wednesday night.

"It was very important that we won the game against Kilmarnock and I told the guys that during the week," he said.

"We all speak about things in the dressing room and I wanted to tell the guys that we had to think only of Kilmarnock and not worry about Hibs.

"It was vital we kept our unbeaten run intact going into the match against Hibs and now we'll be giving everything in the derby.

"We didn't play so well on Wednesday but the fans stuck with us throughout the 90 minutes and I think they realise that we can't play great all the time.

"I was in discussions with the club when the first derby was played at Tynecastle but was back in Portugal when I heard we had won 4-0. That was an impressive result.

"I signed for the club just after that win in August and everyone was very happy about it.

"It would be fantastic if I could help the team to another good result tomorrow after all that has happened."

Jankauskas' confidence will have soared after his match-winning contribution at Tynecastle, the former Porto star hoping he can continue his goal-scoring form tomorrow as he savours the Capital clash for the first time. The 30-year-old was injured as Hearts ran riot in August and is hoping to be right in the thick of the action tomorrow. This is a big season for us and it would be great if I could score again against Hibs.

"I may not have been scoring too many goals but it's more important that the team is winning. We all want to play well for the team and winning gives us confidence. Tomorrow is important and the supporters and hopefully we are still unbeaten after going to Easter Road."

Taken from the Scotsman