STELIOS DEMETRIOU says he's finally found his footballing home in Paisley after a nomadic career which has seen him face uncertainty over pay and even the threat of being beaten by a bat.

The 26-year-old Cypriot arrived at St Mirren in January after spells with six different clubs in his own country and stints at Swedish club Akropolis IF and Bulgarian outfit Lokomotiv Plovdiv.

St Mirren fans have taken the two-footed full back immediately to their hearts, he netted an impressive brace in the 2-0 win over Championship leaders Hibs.

But things weren't always so rosy for Demetriou. In Cyprus he often faced a nervous wait wondering whether his wages would be paid, while in Bulgaria things took a sinister turn when fans came to the training ground with bats.

He said: "In Cyprus if you are not with one of the top five or six teams, you are gambling a little bit with your salary, you could be two or three paydays behind, not paid on time. Some funny things can happen in the dressing rooms as well.

"I was looking for something more 'football'. I was mistaken to go to Bulgaria because it was even worse. Fans came to training with bats one day. It was a bad experience. Don’t ask me any more about that.

"That is over, though, and I am now in the perfect place to play football."

The Saints are on a four-game winning run, a dramatic upturn in form since the January transfer window shut. St Mirren manager Jack Ross rolled the dice in that window, bringing in Demetriou and nine other players as 10 departed the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

Demetriou says he was surprised at the quality in the Buddies squad when he arrived given they were rooted to the bottom of the Championship. Saints' struggles this season are all the more perplexing given the manner in which they dominated Hibs on Wednesday night, they could easily have won by more.

The defender thinks the squad has been reinvigorated by the influx of new signings.

He added: "When I was told to come to St Mirren I looked at the table and saw they were bottom with the second-bottom team a few points ahead.

"When I came in to train and saw the quality of the players, I thought a lot of these players can play easily in a higher league. Football is like that sometimes, things didn't go as expected earlier in the season but I think the gaffer has fixed the situation.

"All the players that came in January and the players that were here are fighting back."