On how he spent Easter vacation:

«Resting, for the most part, because it has been a difficult season. I had a good time with my family and now back to work to continue what we know so well. We needed the physical rest«.

On what happened lately:

«All these nasty events shouldn’t characterize Greek football. Football should be played on the pitch. We train every week to test ourselves on the pitch. There are other people responsible for the other stuff«.

On the victory in Peristeri:

«Atromitos are surprising this season. We knew beforehand that they are tough in their ground, because they were determined to get the three points. It was a hard-fought match that we managed to win –that is what counts«.

On the mood within the team:

«When in distress, focus is a tall order. But we are professionals, we need to do our job, improve. We leave the rest to others«.

On off-pitch issues:

«For many years now, PAOK have grown accustomed not to fuss about referees and off-pitch issues. Such things happen, we must handle them with our heads held high. We have gone past that, we must continue our fine performances until the last match of the season and land as many points as we can«.

On what they learned from their win in Peristeri:

«Prior to the match, in the dressing rooms, we decided to leave everything behind us and show determination. We don’t allow off-pitch situations to mess with our morale. We have overcome them, we proved that and we keep going«.

On the Super League and the Greek Cup:

«Given the situation, we need to be realistic: it’s difficult to win the league with the advantage that AEK have on us. We fell to second place, but we can still make it to the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. We will try to achieve it until the last matchday. We won the Greek Cup last season, we want to do that again. We have the advantage in the Greek Cup semis, there is still the second leg against Panionios. We want to qualify and then win the Cup«.

On them feeling proud of the football they delivered:

«It was obvious that we didn’t start well, but then we improved, played better and had a streak of victories, even without fans on our side. We play attractive football, our fans enjoy it, we have a quality team and strong character –that is what makes the difference«.

On whether he is feeling bitter about the behaviour of colleagues from other clubs:

«No, we don’t fuss about that. Some want to play, others don’t. We don’t focus on Olympiakos and AEK. We are only interested in our own improvement«.

On the fans:

«We are thankful to them. They are our 12th player wherever we play. They stand by our side and boost us. We try everything we can in order to keep them happy«.

On Panionios:

«We have prepared very well for this match. No more vacation, we are rested. We know that, after a break, the mind and the body tend to be a bit loose. We need to snap out of it. Our coach is happy with our training and we need to put on our best performance to win. Panionios don’t quit their effort, as they proved in the Greek Cup when they scored that late goal. They have 2-3 quality players and they will attempt to close down spaces. We must start strongly and show our superiority«.

On his international duty:

«Playing for Greece has been a childhood dream. I always watched their games and hoped to join them. I am excited to share the same dressing room with stars who feature in top foreign leagues. I was sad not to play even for five minutes, but I enjoyed my time with the senior national team and I hope I will join them again. The U20 Greece side are very strong and most of my teammates there are regulars in their clubs. We are on the right track. We aim to win our group and qualify for the finals«.

On whether he would play as right full-back if asked:

«It would be a bit weird, but I am at PAOK and I must give it 100%. It’s tough to become a regular. I will play wherever my coach tells me and give it my best«.