The “intensity” of the Scottish Premiership has been neither a surprise nor a disappointment to St Johnstone defender, Daniels Balodis.
And the Latvian international is ready for the temperature to rise even higher when league turns to cup.
“I wanted to come to this country because of the quality of the teams and the intensity of the football here,” said Balodis, who made his debut in the Scottish Cup against Hamilton Accies and now faces a quarter-final trip to Livingston on Monday night.
“It is very exciting. I just want to help the team get better results.
“I needed the time to get used to it here because, before I came, I hadn’t played for a while.
“It was a month without playing.
“That was a problem at first, but I feel good and feel in shape now.
“Cup games are something different. It’s another kind of pressure.
“You need to prepare well because they’re always a fight.
“I have won the cup in Latvia before (scoring an equaliser for RFS to take their final to extra-time).
“That is something I always wanted to do.
“I also won the league back home, which is bigger, but I hadn’t won the cup so getting that last season was massive for me.”
Bozo Mikulic absence
For his first three games in St Johnstone colours, Balodis played alongside Bozo Mikulic, a former opponent in Latvian football.
The Croatian’s season-ending injury has increased the need for the January recruit to fill a leadership role at the back.
“It was a real shame to find out about Bozo,” said Balodis. “Away from the pitch we speak a lot and are good friends.
“I knew him a little bit from Lavia because we played against each other there and when I arrived in Scotland he helped me a lot.
“We got the bus together on the way to training.
“It has been hard for all the team but that is football. We just have to push forward.
“I came here with it in my mind to help with the leadership so I have obviously tried to do as much as I can on that front.”
Big games keep coming
A Scottish Cup quarter-final, crucial league games in a relegation battle and possibly a World Cup qualifier against England – there will be no drop-off in the importance of the fixtures for Balodis in March.
“Right now, all my focus is on St Johnstone and getting through the Livingston game, so we are in the next round of the Scottish Cup,” he said.
“The next game is always the most important one.
“Every game counts the same, it doesn’t matter if it’s England at Wembley or it’s Livingston in the cup, you have to treat it exactly the same.
“You always have to be at your best and be well prepared.”
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