CAPE TOWN – Cape Town City's Greek centre-back Giannis Potouridis is aiming to become a first-team regular.
The 27-year-old left-footer started the last two matches in the Premiership and in the first was named Man of the Match when the Citizens beat Bidvest Wits 2-0 at the Cape Town Stadium.
“The hard work I’ve put in is paying dividends,” said Potouridis. “But the credit must go to the team first and foremost, the boys have worked hard to turn around our season under coach Jan Olde Riekerink and the wins we’ve had this year have lifted the spirits in the camp.
“When I arrived at the club in late October I knew I had my work cut out,” he continued. “Adjusting to the pace and speed of the game was always going to be a challenge but my thinking got faster by training with guys who have played in this league for many years, so I could respond better to the new environment.
“I knew I had to work hard and give 100% to get the opportunity when given by the coach. I feel like I am being brought into the team slowly but in time I’m sure I will earn a regular place. It definitely inspires you to keep pushing hard and giving your best in matches.”
Will he start against Maritzburg United tomorrow? The return of first-choice central defender Taariq Fielies makes things tricky for Olde Riekerink, knowing that his charges haven’t conceded a goal in their past two games.
Fielies is a tough nut to crack, and never shy to go in hard to stop threats, and being one of the senior statesmen in the squad could see him replace Potouridis, who can also play at left back.
Edmilson holds down the position but he hasn’t exactly set the world alight of late.
“I’m hoping to be in the run-on 11,” said Potouridis. “It’s going to be a difficult game at Maritzburg. We must be determined to get another positive result. We have this momentum going with us so we need to use it and keep giving our best to get a good result.”
City assistant coach Vasili Manousakis offered an assessment of Potouridis.
“He’s settling in nicely and starting to get to grips with the pace of the league. It’s really fast-paced, you can’t compare to some of the leagues in Europe where it’s a little more tactical, here it’s frenetic and at a 100 miles an hour, and I think he’s starting to deal with it much better.
“He’s not the quickest but he reads the game well, and his positioning is excellent. And now he’s realised that there’s times when he actually needs to step in and be quite aggressive, which he did very well against Wits.
He won some critical headers and stepped in to win some tackles, that’s where he needed to improve and has.”