ANDY KYRIACOU aims to ease Saracens' hooker crisis by installing himself as the first choice number two over the coming months.

The Men in Black's chief scrum ball winner Matt Cairns is out for three months after fracturing his right arm in Viadana while his understudy Fabio Ongaro is expected to be included in the Italy squad for the 2008 Six Nations, held in February and March.

That should leave Kyri' in pole position to pack down in the centre of the front row, and while they are not the door opening circumstances he would have preferred he is determined to grab the chance with both hands.

His five appearances to date this season have all come via the bench and the 24-year-old is yearning for more after forcing his way into the first team set-up with some sterling A team performances.

"I was gutted for Cairnsy," he said of his stricken team-mate who had a metal plate inserted into his arm. "Nobody wants to see anyone get injured like that - it was horrible. But injuries happen in rugby don't they? I am sure if it was me as first choice hooker and Cairnsy third he would be glad of the opportunity also.

"I am not here just to sit on the bench and while Cairnsy is out I will be doing everything I can to make the number two shirt my own."

Director of rugby Alan Gaffney has hinted he could bring in an emergency hooker in the new year to cater for the absence of Cairns and Ongaro but Kyriacou, again a replacement for tomorrow's (Saturday's) trip to Harlequins, is defiant.

"If I keep going and take the opportunities that come my way I will give Alan Gaffney reason enough not to bring someone else in. If he does then I will try and make sure the new guy is cover for me. I aim to give the coaches plenty to think about."

And he already has done despite, by his own admittance, a sluggish start to the season. He has impressed in training and is beginning to show just how much he benefited from a productive six month loan stint at Gaffney's former side Munster where he played in a dozen matches.

"I tried to work as hard as I could over the summer but I don't think I really impressed in the pre-season games," admitted the Liverpool-born forward.

"Maybe I was a bit too nervous, but whatever the reason I was not hitting the targets I had set myself. So I got my head down, persevered and tried to get my performances right in the A games and things have picked up."

"Munster was fantastic," he added. "No sooner had I got there the back up guy to (hooker) Frank Sheahan had gone down injured and I was starting against Ulster. It was a steep learning curve but I am happy I did it as it helped develop my game. I have been a bit of a hot head in the past but going to Munster helped calm me down as I learned not to get sucked into situations.

"The Celtic League is very different to the Premiership in that teams throw the ball around a lot more. I got to experience a different style of rugby and when I came back to Saracens I didn't want to take a step back."

Kyriacou, who has represented England at Under-21 level, joined Sarries in 2004 after three seasons with Sale Sharks and he is going to some lengths to earn himself a new contract when his current deal expires at the end of this season.

On the advice of Eddie Jones, Kyriacou is trying to model himself on classy ball-running hookers like Worcester's 72-time capped Wallaby Jeremy Paul and has been working alongside sports pyschologists to hone the mental aspects of his game.

"They ask me what I do before I take every throw and try and give you little cues to relax and focus," revealed the avid Evertonian.

"There might have been a 10-man pile up that you have been at the bottom of, therefore your muscles are tense and you mind might not be quite on the job. They help fix that."

Kyriacou, who scored his first Sarries try in the 45-15 EDF Energy Cup win over Bristol last month is keen to stay at Vicarage Road - and not just for the rugby. The delectable scouser is tasked with organising social events for the players to relax away from the pitch, and if his recent public show of wit is anything to go by, nights out with Kyriacou at the helm must be side splitting.

Replaced along with stellar debutants Chris Jack and Brent Russell in the recent A team hammering of Bath, Kyriacou stole the illustrious pair's thunder by lapping up the fervent crowd applause with some tongue-in-cheek appreciative waves and bows.

"The camp is really upbeat at the moment," he added. "I am in charge of the social side of things and try and arrange as many get togethers for the boys to make us tight. We go for lunches and the cinema and try and get together after games whereas before people would scoot off straight away. Most of the players have bought into it and we have got to know each other inside out off the pitch as well as on it."

Asked whether the club wanted to keep him and if he wanted to stay, Kyriacou replied: "It's a bit of both really. It's now a case of making the most of the opportunity I have been given and proving that I am good enough to stay at the club. We will see what the club comes back with (in terms of a new deal) and January will be an interesting time."