STELIOS DEMETRIOU has played in four countries for eight different clubs and thinks he’s now found a home in Paisley.
The new St Mirren man scored both goals from left-back, with his right foot as well, in his side’s excellent and deserved 2-0 win over Championship leaders Hibernian.
The 26-year-old has packed a lot into his career so far and in January signed a six-month deal with a year’s option.
First impressions do count for the Cypriot who has now added Scotland to a CV which boasts spells in his own country, Sweden and Bulgaria.
Demetriou said: “I’ve played in Cyprus for most of my career and did some moving abroad, but I love Scotland.
“I have only been here for one month and, already, it feels like home. I am really happy and really glad. I would like to stay here for a few years. Why not?’
“I like to have a nice atmosphere in the dressing room. I think it all starts from there.
“I like to play about with my team-mates a bit, bully the younger ones a little bit. I mean that in a good way, because I am not that much older than them, so I know how it is to be a young boy. I am always next to them.
“I have played football for many years and, believe me, the atmosphere in the dressing room here is unbelievable. I cannot describe how it is. I am sure this team will get out of this current situation.”
Nobody who watched the weekend performance would doubt that. St Mirren were excellent from start to the end. It could and should have been more, which makes this season's troubles all the more puzzling.
Demetriou said: “When I was told to come to St Mirren, I had a look at the table and saw they were last with the team second-bottom a few points ahead.
“I came to train for a week and saw the quality of the players. You had Stevie Mallan and, after a bit, Stephen McGinn came in too.
“These players can play easily in the higher league, I think. They are players who deserve to be in a higher league, but football can be like that sometimes.
“Things maybe didn’t go right earlier in the season, but I think the gaffer has fixed up that situation now.
"All of the players who arrived in January plus the players who were already here have developed a strong bond and we are fighting back.”
Demetriou is an interesting character with a past which seems to be anything but dull.
He said: “I don’t know if you know much about football in Cyprus, but, if you are not with one of the top four or five sides, you are gambling a little bit with your salary, you might be two or three paydays behind, not paid on time.
“Funny things can happen in the dressing rooms as well. I was looking for something more ‘football’, if you know what I mean.
“It was a mistake to go to Bulgaria because that was similar to Cyprus, to be honest. It was even worse. Fans came to training with bats one day. It was a bad experience. Don’t ask me any more about that.
"That is over, though, and I am now in the perfect place to play football.”
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