One Direction's Irish heartthrob Niall Horan has taken to his official Twitter page this evening (January 21) to express his gratitude at the boyband's 'amazing' fan base. 

Writing on the social networking site, he explained that the group's manager had sent him a link to a YouTube video that shows hordes of Directioners in Finland walking together with banners displaying the band's name and he was bowled over by the support:

"Our manager just sent this to me! Holy s**t! This is part of the reason why I say to you guys all the time that we have the best fans ever. I'm just sittin' here watching 'Modern Family' at home! And I get this! You guys never cease to amaze me, you sexy people! #1DFamily."

Earlier this month, the 'Little Things' superstar underwent major knee surgeryand told his Twitter followers that he needs privacy in order to recover quickly, but was doing well and feeling good about the operation's outcome: "Hey guys I know most of you have seen those pics today! Yes I've had major knee surgery, a much larger surgery than first anticipated."

"But I would like to tell u, it was a complete success! Considering the scale of it! So all I ask of you guys is that you would respect my privacy as I try to recover and get for the where we are tour!"