Ex-Hearts star Karipidis feeling the heat in Cyprus

That all puts the demands faced by former Hearts star Christos Karipidis into perspective but the Greek defender still carries a massive burden of pressure.

Having helped Omonia Nicosia win the Cypriot First Division title for the first time in seven years, he and his colleagues must continue to satisfy ever-rising expectations and attempt to repeat the feat next season.

Simultaneously, they are expected to negotiate three Champions League qualifying rounds to reach the lucrative group phase and justify the exorbitant spending of president Miltiades Neofytou.

Karipidis has felt the strain since the moment he arrived in Nicosia last summer.

He left Tynecastle on freedom of contract to join the most successful club in Cypriot history on a salary of 10,000 per week.

Neofytou sanctioned the same level of contract for Karipidis' Portuguese Tynecastle team-mate Bruno Aguiar during a recruitment drive which brought 15 new players to the GSP Stadium.

Cyprus' all-time leading international goalscorer Michalis Konstantinou (27 goals in 70 games] was lured from the Greek club Ikralis. Greek international midfielder Christos Patsatzoglou (a seven-time winner of his native league] arrived from Olympiakos. There is even a Brazilian called Kaka in the side (although he was loaned from Hertha Berlin, not Real Madrid).

If Greece's economic problems are self-inflicted, as many believe, then Karipidis finds himself in a similar situation across the Mediterranean in Cyprus. Omonia's heightened expectations were prompted by presidential cash-splashing to satisfy a lust for success.

Karipidis is content he made the correct move last year but openly admits to feeling the heat.

"The club spent a lot of money to bring good players here. I think we had 15 new players in the team, it's too much," he said. "When a lot of players come quickly it is difficult to become a team.

"We needed some time but we didn't have it. The new players came and we had to win games and also be a team.

"There were many new players at Hearts in my first season so I had experience of big changes and this helped me with Omonia.

"We have a lot of experienced players here and now everyone knows what they have to do on the pitch. We have players aged 18, 19, 20, 25. We also have two or three players over 30 so I think Omonia have a good future.

"We have three rounds to go to the Champions League groups and this is very difficult. We will give everything for this target. For every player, to play these kind of European games against the big teams is very nice.

"We have a long wait before this moment because the first game is not until 13 or 14 July. It will be a big moment for the players, the fans and the club.

"I think we must be lucky to reach the groups. All the teams before you get to the groups are very strong. If we get through I hope we can play against Rangers or Celtic because I want to come back to Scotland.

"For me, it was the best decision to leave last year because I wanted to be closer to my country. It was my first time in Cyprus and my family are very happy there.

"But it was a tough season because to be champions was too much pressure. Omonia is a big club in Cyprus and they had not won the league for seven years. This year we won it and I'm very happy about this. I saw the fans waiting seven years for this moment and everybody is very happy."

Karipidis will draw on his only previous experience of Champions League qualifying ties when Omonia enter the competition at the second qualifying phase.

Only days after joining Hearts from PAOK Salonika in August 2006, he was thrust into the first leg of a final qualifier against AEK Athens at Murrayfield.

"Hearts were not ready. They were not ready to go to the groups," he continued. "AEK played very well and I remember the first game because AEK made so many chances.

"We had the chance to win because we scored first but AEK is a big team in Greece and they played so well against us. That game is my only experience of the Champions League. I played with PAOK in the UEFA Cup but that year with Hearts was my only time in the Champions League."

Three years in Edinburgh came to an end when he departed as a much sought-after Bosman signing last June. Omonia were quick to pounce.

"You remember the situation. Everybody said: 'We want to keep Karipidis, we want to keep Karipidis'. For Bruno it was the same and for Robbie (Neilson] it was the same. Nobody at Hearts gave me an offer. I waited but nothing happened. Also, it was very important for me to come to Cyprus. They speak Greek and I feel like I am in my own country here. I don't have any problems and I'm very happy.

"I still look for information about Hearts on the internet and I saw they did not bring many players in last year. If you want to go to the Europa League groups you have to bring players to the club. Okay, the young boys are very good but you must have experienced players close to the young boys to help them. You cannot play only with young boys in the team, it is not possible to have a good team.

"If you have a good team with experienced players, you can put two or three young boys in to play beside them. It is easier then. Hearts is a big club and they must have high targets. They should not be in sixth place."

Omonia means "unity" in Greek, but enforced togetherness can create only friction. Karipidis and other senior squad members discovered so at Tynecastle.

He has worked to instil a unified mentality within a cosmopolitan dressing room in Cyprus, and now embarks upon one of the biggest challenges of his career feeling obliged to deliver once again.