What makes a football cult hero?
Every fan has worshipped one while following their team but they weren’t necessarily the best player in the team.
And neither were they a club legend - the type of loyal servants who end up with statues outside the ground.
But a cult hero requires several ingredients that separate them from other players and above else they win a place in the hearts of the supporters.
The fact they are often not the star of the team is one thing that earns them cult hero status but their commitment makes up for any lack of quality.
There is usually one weakness that stands out and there is a ‘What could have been?’ without those flaws.
Then again, if it wasn’t for that weakness - or weaknesses - then there’s every chance they wouldn’t have been at your club!
Arriving from foreign shores, but adapting to local culture, is usually another factor in cult heroes which adds to that magic and mystery and cements the special bond with the fans.
As part of our series on Scottish football cult heroes, Record Sport looks back on what made Alexei Eremenko so popular during his two stints at Kilmarnock and what he's been up to since.
How did he end up in Scotland?
Eremenko had two spells in Scotland, plus a little known trial with Celtic in 2006.
But it was fellow Finn Mixu Paatelainen who signed him up for a first deal in Scottish football, bringing him to Kilmarnock on-loan from Ukrainian club FC Metalist Kharkiv.
He returned to his parent club at the end of that season but four years later he was back at Rugby Park for another stint.
Why did the fans love him so much?
Paateleinen had built an attacking side around him first time around.
The Finnish playmaker was one of the league's stand-out players in 2010 as Kilmarnock defied expectations to finish in the top half of the Scottish Premiership and reach the League Cup quarter-finals.
Eremenko was rewarded for his eye-catching form by being nominated for the 2010–11 Players' Player of the Year award, losing out to Celtic's Emilio Izaguirre.
He then went on to leave after just one season for spells in Russia and Kazakhstan, before he returned to Ayrshire under Allan Johnston in 2014 for another campaign, scoring five goals in 38 league appearances.
The second spell wasn't so successful in terms of league finishes but Eremenko did form a formidable partnership with Kris Boyd and it remains to be seen if they would have secured Premiership survival without their goals and influence.
How did he earn his cult hero status?
Eremenko became a hugely popular figure at Kilmarnock during his two brief stints at the Rugby Park club with his influential displays and mesmerising ability on the ball to light up matches.
Glasgow duo Celtic and Rangers were both reportedly interested in signing him when his stock was high but nothing ever materialised and he even had a hand in four goals as Killie secured their Premiership status with a 4-1 away win over Partick Thistle at the end of the 2014/15 season.
Ability was not the problem. His physical condition might have been but Killie fans didn't mind when he so often produced that bit of magic.
It's just a shame he never did fulfil his potential on a consistent basis to move to the highest level and cement himself as a legend.
Where did he go after leaving Killie?
After leaving Killie the second time in 2015 because of a breakdown in contract negotiations, Eremenko returned to his homeland to join FF Jaro for a season. He went on to turn out for clubs in Finland until announcing his retirement at the end of 2016.
What is he up to now?
Eremenko is now 39-years-old and has worked as sporting director at Latvian side Spartaks Jurmala since 2018.
In 2020, he revealed he survived contracting malaria following a work trip to Nigeria.
He joined up with Spartaks at a training camp in Italy afterwards, but began to feel unwell during a friendly against Udinese and spent five days in hospital.
Eremenko said: "Halfway through the Udinese match, I started to feel awful - flu, really bad feeling.
"I told the doctor something was wrong now. The fever was 39.3. An ambulance was called. They took me to the hospital and took a blood test.
"They asked, hey boy! Where have you been for the last two weeks?
"They took the test and said I had malaria. I was really lucky."
