Schwolow excited for Edinburgh Derby debut

Alexander Schwolow says he’s enjoying his early days in maroon as he prepares for his Edinburgh Derby debut this weekend.

The Jambos welcome their local rivals to Tynecastle on Saturday and despite plenty of new arrivals over the summer, Schwolow explained that Goggsy the kit man is ensuring everyone is aware of the importance of the fixture.

Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference, the stopper said:

“I'm definitely enjoying it. I had a good feeling for the people I met before I even went to the club. I'm enjoying seeing the guys and being in the locker room.

“You definitely notice from the people around you how important the derby game for them is. Take our kit man, he tells us how important this game is and you get this feeling.

“You just try to prepare as best as possible; to look at everything, things you can improve as well and just go into the game with good confidence and a very good plan. But I'm sure our coaching staff will prepare us perfectly for this.”

The German admits he’s enjoying working alongside his fellow ‘keepers and admits the competition in the goalkeeper’s union is a good thing that drives standards. I think we have a lot of competition in the goalkeeping group. We are a big group, with very experienced guys like me as well.

“I think we learn from each other. We have a good connection to each other, and we help each other. So, we just try to push ourselves, push each other. And I think competition makes you better in the long term. And I always had it in my career, and I think that's a good thing.

“We have a good squad, also a big squad. It's a challenge to keep the guys who don't play so much at the moment, to keep them with the group. But I think we have very intelligent characters in the group. So, I don’t think we will lose anybody, and you cannot underestimate how important that is over the long run.

“I see a lot of quality on the pitch as well. But you cannot take anything for granted. Like at this level, sometimes it's just one step less. Or one tackle you don't take 100% seriously. And you're already falling behind. So, we always have to push each other in training. Expect a lot from each other to continue our path.”

On his early experiences of Scottish football, Alex added:

"The intensity of the games [has been a surprise]. I'm enjoying the games a lot. I think it's also nicer to watch, let me say that.

“I would say the Bundesliga, for example, is more tactical. But here it's just counter-attack after counter-attack.

“I'm very impressed how physically strong everybody is. And how much they can run. That was very impressive for me.”

You can watch Alexander’s press conference in full on Hearts TV.