Greek defender has Hearts set on higher goal

THERE is no point in having experience if you can't learn from it. No sense in getting carried away with one high, if it means you immediately trip up and fall flat on your face. And no merit in settling for one success when there is more to strive for. There's certainly no need to point out any of the above to Takis Fyssas because he is already well aware.

Tynecastle erupted in laughter and song on Wednesday night when the Greek defender took to the mic. Everyone waited with bated breath, expecting some profound words from a man blessed with intelligence and humility as well as talent.

Instead, initially unaccompanied, he gave us: "Champions League, la, la, la, la la, Champions League la, la, la, la la." A man who has experienced tensions in the past as he and his international colleagues confounded all expectations to win the European Championships, beating the host nation in the final, he knew the perfect way to dissipate them.

After the nerves had almost strangled the breath from supporters, his singalong was the perfect light relief. It was also a "thank you" to the crowd who had earlier played their part. But rather than party into the night, he says he had one or two beers and went home. With the Scottish Cup final looming on Saturday, there is still work to be done. Experience counts.

Last year, he and his Benfica team-mates had clinched the Portuguese league title the week before playing underdogs Setubal in the cup final. "We lost 2-1 because we had been celebrating all week," he admits, ruefully, still obviously irked by the profligacy.

"That is why I have to stress that, while we are happy at this moment at the club and we enjoyed Wednesday, we have to be focused on the final against Gretna. We know they are a smaller club than Hearts but it is going to be a very tough game. We are favourites and we have to show this. We must learn from what happened at Benfica. That is why I am just concentrating at this moment on this final now and I have kept telling the other players about this. You never stop learning."

Players likes Robbie Neilson have been listening. The 25-year-old Scot is desperate to ensure a tangible reward for the season's endeavours. Second place in the league may be exciting and, in a league so often dominated by the Old Firm, eminently laudable but it can't be hung in a display unit. "It's been fantastic winning second but I'd rather have a medal in the bag at the end of the season," says Neilson. "We haven't had a minute to think about the cup final yet because there was so much pressure on us to get the job done in the league but now that's done, the cup becomes the most important thing.

"Looking back when you're older, having a winner's medal in your cabinet is what you want and we've got a great chance."

Fyssas has already won baubles others can only dream about, but the winner inside him is just as anxious as Neilson to embellish his collection.

"I have been involved in four [domestic] cup finals - two in Greece and two in Portugal," says the left-back, who has become a firm favourite with the Hearts fans since his arrival last August. "The first one was for Panionis when I was just starting out. We played against Panathinaikos - we were the outsiders but we won 1-0. I was just 23. The next year I signed for Panathinaikos and we played against Olympiakos in the cup final but I did not play as I had an injury and we lost the final.

"But I played two more finals - in Portugal. The first one was just a few months after I joined Benfica and we played Jose Mourinho's Porto in the final. We won 2-1 in extra-time and I scored in the second half to make it 1-1 and I think it was the best goal of my career. It's a pity I don't have my DVD here to show you!" he jokes. "It took the game to extra-time and then Simao scored the winner for us. We were very happy as we had not won the cup for eight years and it was against such a big team."

Having experienced life as the underdog and the favourite, the 32-year-old is perfectly placed to know the thoughts that will be racing through the minds of players in both camps. He knows that, just as he has previously, Rowan Alexander's team will believe they can provide an upset.

"At Panionis, I remember I was like a crazy guy mentioning it all the time that we could win. It was an important game for me just to show that I could play in a bigger team. I have great respect for Gretna - they have played very well this year. They have a good president who likes the team and I don't believe that they are just happy because they are in Europe. They won't just say 'thank you'. They will try their hardest to win the cup but we are ready for this."

They will have to be. After the celebrations in Gorgie on Wednesday, defeat on the Hampden turf is virtually unthinkable. For the supporters as well as the players. "The fans are very happy now and I understand that they are waiting for us to take the cup," says Fyssas. "I am sure we are going to take it if we play as we can. It's a different mentality here - I don't need to speak too much about how we approach this game. The character of the Scottish players is very high and they are already keeping their feet on the ground."

The dogged determination to prove doubters wrong and undermine the Old Firm dominance has taken the Hearts players thus far. And that incentive has been as great for the foreign imports as it has been for the players who grew up in Scotland aware of the Glasgow sides' "superiority".

"In Greece, we only knew about Rangers and Celtic and when I came to Hearts, they didn't say very good things about my move in Greece. I was very angry about this and I told myself I had to prove them wrong and that I had come to a good club. Now, the newspapers in Greece are full of reports about Hearts and they have interviews with me. They want to come over here and take pictures of the Greek flags in the crowd and I am very proud because in Greece they now know about Hearts."

He could secure a few more column inches in those papers on Saturday. "If I win the Scottish Cup, I will be the only Greek player to win three cups in three different countries. This is one more incentive for me."

The other is the opportunity for another sing-song and with the job done and dusted there will be no curtailing his Hampden celebrations.

"I won the European Championship with Greece which was a fantastic moment in my life and my career. But last Wednesday - I don't want to say it was the same or a better feeling - but it felt like the first time.

"You never stop trying for the best and what happened Wednesday is a massive result for Hearts and I'm very happy.

"In my mind, I cannot live for the past. I want to live for the present and I want to stay with Hearts for many years and I'm proud to be here. I enjoy the mentality of the football here."

The man who sang his heart out on Wednesday wants this season to finish on a high note but the fans needn't worry, the singing is simply a sideline. He insists he has no plans to give up the day job.

Taken from the Scotsman