Peterborough United captain on an 'amazing' experience, leading by example, not fearing anyone and how playing for Cyprus benefits Posh

It was also the first appearance of the season for the 23 year-old midfielder who insists automatic promotion from League One remains the aim for a much-changed Posh team.

The 2-1 win at Exeter made it six points from the opening three matches for Posh and seventh-place in the table ahead of a tough-looking clash against fourth-placed Wrexham at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday (3pm kick off).

Kyprianou will then fly out on Sunday to link up with the Cyprus squad for Nations League matches against Lithuania (away, September 6) and Kosovo (home, September 9). International calls-up have led to the scheduled League One game for Posh at Kyprianou’s former club Leyton Orient on September 7 being postponed.

Game off

“The Cyprus games should be beneficial for me,” Kyprianou insisted. “I know I’m not guaranteed to start them, but any competitive minutes for me will be good as I’ve had a bit of a stop-start season so far. I was away with Cyprus in the summer, but then had a knee issue which went away and then came back again.

"It was great to be back at Exeter although I felt I lacked a bit of match sharpness, but it was a very proud moment for me to lead the team out. It was amazing to walk out on the pitch at the front. The manager’s last instructions to me were to turn the teams round at the start so the pressure was on to win win the toss which I did! I felt good after that.

"I watched Harrison Burrows grow into the captaincy last season. He really took it in his stride and led by example which is what I will try to do. You have to stay true to yourself, but you also have to look to manage the team a bit more and focus on them as much as yourself. A captain needs to be someone who can step up in the tough times and who the players look up to. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, but a like pressure and it it comes I can handle it.

"It’s a big game for us on Saturday. We’ve done well in the last two away games, but they are behind us now and we are focusing on the next challenge. We are facing a good experience team who you can expect to be in and around the top at the end of the season so it could be an early-season six-pointer as we not here to muddle through or even to sneak into the play-offs. We are here to win promotion and we don’t fear anyone.”