Two months after completing his move to Cypriot club Aris Limassol, Steve Borg is back on home turf to gear up for Malta’s upcoming Euro 2016 Group H qualifiers against Italy on Thursday and Azerbaijan three days later.

Although these are still early days, Borg’s prospects of making a name for himself in Cyprus look bright as the towering defender has started Aris Limassol’s first two championship games – a 2-1 defeat to derby rivals Apollon Limassol and a one-all draw against Ermis Aradippou.

“So far everything is going fine for me in Cyprus,” Borg told Times of Malta.

“We have one point after the first two championship games. Our main objective this season is to avoid relegation from the top league.”

Borg has settled nicely in Cyprus but admitted that the first few days were quite tough.

“The first two weeks after my move to Aris were difficult,” he said.

“Things began to fall into place after I rented an apartment and got a car. I stayed in a hotel in the first two weeks and didn’t know my way around.

“But I feel more settled now as I become more familiar with the city and also made many new friends.

“Two months have passed since I moved to Cyprus and the last six weeks have been very good.”

Having established himself as one of the strongest defenders in Maltese football, Borg had long set himself the target of playing for a foreign club.

“It’s more professional here,” Borg said of his experience in Cyprus so far.

“The main difference is that you’re only focusing on football and this helps you to become a better player.

“Aris Limassol have their own training grounds and the technical staff are full-time.

“In the last two months, I’ve felt the same as before but I am convinced that my level will improve in the long run.”

Borg is almost certain to start at the heart of defence in Thursday’s arduous qualifier against Italy at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

The Aris Limassol powerhouse is raring to go after missing the 1-0 home defeat to Bulgaria in June as he was recovering from a knee operation.

“I missed the last game against Bulgaria, so I’m really looking forward to playing for my country in the next qualifier,” Borg said.

If we are compact and 100 per cent focused, I have no doubt that we will give Italy a hard game

After two months away from Malta, Borg admitted that he was happy to rejoin his international team-mates for training yesterday morning.

“I was looking forward to it because I’ve missed my friends, especially my former Valletta team-mates,” the 27-year-old said.

Tall, powerful and comfortable with the ball, Borg looks like the archetypal defender but his versatility and stamina have also seen him deployed at right-back for club and country.

Asked whether he is looking to establish himself at centre-half with the national team, Borg said: “The most important thing is that I’m playing, regardless of the position. However, I feel that the centre-half role suits my game better.”

Needless to say that Italy’s elevated status in world football and their popularity among local fans enhances the allure of Thursday’s game, also in the eyes of the Malta players.

Borg, however, insisted that he approaches every international game in the same manner.

“For me, every game is the same as I always set out to give my 100 per cent,” he remarked.

“Whether we’re playing Italy or Azerbaijan, it doesn’t make any difference to me.”

The gulf between Italy and minnows Malta is reflected in the current group standings as the four-time world champions are second on 12 points while our national team are bottom of Group H with one point.

The general view is that Malta will be on a damage-limitation mission in Florence but Borg’s targets are different. He is confident that Malta can offer stiff resistance.

“If we are compact and 100 per cent focused, I have no doubt that we will give Italy a hard game,” Borg said.

“We always go out on the pitch with the aim of winning the game rather than not to concede goals as this, in my opinion, is not the right mentality.

“I’m optimistic that we will produce a very good performance.”

Although Malta have lost all their games against Italy so far, the players can take heart from their recent showings against the Azzurri.

After losing the two 2014 World Cup qualifiers by an identical 2-0 scoreline, Malta suffered a 1-0 defeat in the Euro 2016 home game last October.

Having missed two of the last three internationals against Italy, Borg is very motivated to do well on Thursday, moreso after serving a three-match ban for his sending-off in the opening 2-0 defeat to Croatia in the first half of the qualifying campaign.

“I’ve only played one game against Italy,” Borg said.

“I’m more motivated now to play against them after missing two games.”