Hearts midfielder Alex Tziolis wants to concentrate on getting back to playing regularly, after he was sold on the move to Scottish football by ex-Tynecastle defender Christos Karipidis.

The Greece international was frozen out by his former club PAOK this year and agreed to have his contract terminated last week before moving to Edinburgh.

He sought advice from Karipidis, who played at Hearts from 2006 to 2009 before linking up with Tziolis at APOEL in Cyprus in 2012, about the move.

The 31-year-old was noticed by Hearts assistant Austin MacPhee in his coaching capacity with the Northern Ireland team and he was instrumental in securing the signing.

Tziolis said: "My agent told me about the interest then Mr Austin called me and we spoke. He told me he knows me from the national team and he saw me play against [Northern Ireland] some months ago.

"So in the last few days I took the decision and I hope it will be good for me that I came here, and also for the club. It was really good opportunity for me to play here.

"I just want to forget the last few months because it wasn't normal for me not to play. But it is in the past now and you can be sure I will do everything to help this team."

Tziolis has signed with Hearts until the end of the current season but said he is not thinking about his future beyond May as he focuses on getting back to match fitness.

He said: "My contract is until the end of this season. To tell the truth I cannot tell what will happen. Really now all I want to do is concentrate on football and help my team. We will see."