IF the next ten matches go to plan, Dimi Konstantopoulos can start to think about a Premier League debut next season at the ripe old age of 36.

It is hard to imagine, just 19 months ago, he was unsure what the future would hold for him in professional football after returning to the North-East from his native Greece in the hope of earning a contract.

He was training with Hartlepool United, where he first made his name for himself on these shores after signing 2003, and was thinking about signing for Colin Cooper.

Had Tony Mowbray not invited him to Rockliffe Park for a trial that summer, there is every chance Konstantopoulos would be now battling for a shirt with Pools goalkeeper Scott Flinders at the foot of League Two rather than leading a Championship title charge.

“I trained for about a week and half with Hartlepool before Middlesbrough came in. If they had actually offered me something I think I would have taken it at that point - but I don’t think they would be bottom of the league if they had me!” said Konstantopoulos.

The towering shot-stopper from Thessaloniki has impressed since ousting Tomas Mejias, Jayson Leutwiler and Jason Steele in the search for a first team shirt. Current boss Aitor Karanka rewarded him last month with a new one-year contract; promotion could lead to a first appearance in the Premier League.

That is a far cry from 12 years ago when he headed for England without a club following the end of his time at Portuguese side Farense. It was a gamble which has paid off.

Konstantopoulos said: “It’s a crazy story. I was at a club in Spain trialling. But when someone called me and told me about a League One club in England, I just left. They didn’t even know I’d left - they were ringing me the next day! But I had this thing in my head that I wanted to play in England.

“I came to Hartlepool with just a bag of clothes really. I signed a month-to-month contract. I didn’t know anyone and nobody knew me. I kept training and eventually got a chance and a bigger contract. But I had this bug for playing in England. I never thought that I wasn’t going to succeed. I think I will write a good book one day!”

After his four successful years with Pools, he left after securing promotion from League Two in 2007, Konstantopoulos moved to Coventry and that led to spells with Nottingham Forest, Swansea, Cardiff, Kerkyra and AEK Athens. Financial problems at AEK, who he represented in the Europa League, led to his decision to depart and return to England.

After taking time to convince Karanka to start with him, he has helped Boro to the best defensive record in English football this season. Capping off a memorable season with promotion, though, would be just perfect.

Konstantopoulos said: “It is a great opportunity. Throughout my career I have always tried to push myself and better myself and tried to play with the best. It hasn’t always worked out that way but if you don’t try you don’t know how good you are.

“Being in this position is a great opportunity for me and all the lads to hopefully next season go up against the best players in the world. I am very excited and delighted to be at this club in this position. Hopefully we can carry on doing what we have been doing the whole season and finish where we want to finish at the end of the season.”

Despite hurtling towards the end of his playing days, Konstantopoulos was never prepared to give up on his Premier League dream.

He said: “Throughout my career I have learned that football is so unpredictable that you can never plan ahead more than a few weeks because things change so rapidly. They can change from good to bad or bad to good.

“My career has been a bit like that. That has helped me because I have learned to cope with massive changes. I have learned to keep a level head. I keep trying to better myself. When I feel I don’t have the desire to succeed anymore, or if I don’t want to try to get better anymore, then that will be the time to stop.

“It would be fantastic if I could make my Premier League debut at 36. There are thousands of players around the world that want to play in the Premier League so to be in this position and being able to try to achieve that is a great thing. I will do whatever I can to be able to achieve that.”