Hearts' Miko warrior

LINESMAN Andy Davis might disagree, but when you get up close and personal with Saulius Mikoliunas, it is hard to square one’s impressions with the hardcase image that attached itself to the Lithuanian following the flare-up against Rangers at Tynecastle in March. Mild-mannered, softly sspoken, and veritably baby-faced, Miko comes across as the unlikeliest wild child you could ever meet.

His old coach at Kaunas, Eimantas Puras, recently expressed amazement when told of what his former charge had been up to. And the player himself looks back on the incident, in which he bodycharged linesman Davis after a disputed penalty award to Rangers, almost as if it was an out-of-body experience. "I was really surprised at myself. I’ve always had a stubborn streak, but I’ve never let my emotions boil over like that before. I guess it was just a sign of how much the games mean to me - I always try to give everything to the team."

Less than four months into his SPL career, Miko has probably earned more headlines than many players manage in a career. That maelstrom aside, few players can have had such an immediate and eyecatching impact as Miko, reacquainting Hearts fans with the lost art of wing play and firmly establishing himself as a not-so-local hero. And all this before turning 21, which he did last week.

Many journalists - this one included - were volubly sceptical about the chances of Lithuanians cutting the mustard in the SPL; wariness over Baltic unknowns being perhaps symptomatic of the wider uncertainty regarding the winds of change blowing in from the east. But within half an hour of his debut from the bench against Livi in January, in which he helped turn the game Hearts’ way, Miko shut the doubters up. In so doing, he probably did more to ease doubts over Vladimir Romanov’s arrival than a cool few million in the pot. Subsequent performances from his compatriots, Deividas Cesnauskis and Marius Kyzis, have caused further eating of hats, but it is Miko who has most consistently set hearts racing.

The term "old-fashioned winger" clearly doesn’t translate so well into Russian, and at first Miko is not too sure whether this sounds like a compliment, but his own philosophy definitely backs up the description.

"I just play the same game that I played in Lithuania. I’ve always loved using my pace and playing in high-tempo games. I love to attack, definitely, but I always try to work for the team.

"The standard in Lithuania isn’t so weak, you know. We’re third in our World Cup qualifying group, so that tells you something about the national side. And you get some pretty good football at club level too. Football here is faster, more physical, definitely. There are a lot of hard tussles on the pitch. Lithuanian football is more focused on the technical side of the game."

There is nothing revelatory about that statement. What has surprised many is how well this will o’ the wisp has withstood the physical rigours and, on the pitch at least, struck a victory for the more subtle arts.

"I had no real basis to feel confident that I would adapt to Scottish football. But a lot of people have been a big help to me and to the other Lithuanian boys. We were welcomed into the team by the players and the coaches. So if we have fitted in quickly, that has a lot to do with it."

As has the fully requited love affair with the Jambos support.

"Back home, football has always been second to basketball. I knew when I came here that I was coming to a football country. When you’re playing in front of 15,000 each week it makes a big difference to the way you feel and the way you play. In Lithuania, even for a game between Kaunas and Ekranas, you would get four, maybe five thousand. And for a normal game maybe just 1,000.

"I wouldn’t say I had any role models or idols as such. I’ve always loved watching Figo, but I wouldn’t say I try to base my game on his. I just go out and play how I know, and do what I can. I think with me a lot of what I do is instinctive."

It was presumably instinctive reaction, rather than considered response that got the better of him that infamous night at Tynecastle. His six-match ban provided plenty of time for reflection - "a really difficult period for me, but I was lucky to get a lot of moral support from the players and the coaches" - and is certain he has learned from the experience.

For one moment at Ibrox last weekend, though, there seemed to be impending danger of déjà vû all over again. Provoked by a section of the home fans, he let his sense of injustice get the better of him once more with an angry gesture. He was subsequently withdrawn to avert any recurrence of the red card scenario.

"I was surprised by what some of the [Rangers] fans were saying," he frowns. "They were shouting ‘cheat, cheat’ at me. It seemed like a complete lack of respect. I was just trying to say: ‘if you don’t respect me, I won’t respect you’. I know I shouldn’t have reacted like that. Of course they should support their team as well as possible, but there should be respect."

If he has been guilty of anything, it is perhaps naivety about how to respond in such situations. Such things perhaps don’t happen in the sedate surrounds of the Lithuanian league, but he will clearly have to accept that the undiluted passion of the fans he clearly so enjoys also has a flipside. And he admits that, for his own good, as well as that of his team, he needs to master his emotions.

Today, as the other half of the Old Firm come visiting, he has another opportunity to show that he is as capable of restraint as he is of wing wizardry, and he says that he is looking forward to it. "This will be my first time playing Celtic. These are the kind of games you dream of playing in. I loved playing against Rangers. When you play against quality teams, your own quality improves."

Miko was still a teenager at Ekranas when he watched Kaunas take on Celtic in the Champions League qualifiers in August 2003. And he missed Hearts’ last encounter with the Hoops as he was still serving his ban. Then Hearts were still battling for a place in Europe. Now it is nothing but pride, but Miko says this does not diminish a desire to win.

"Of course, there’s still an incentive. No real team gives up before the end. We still want to beat Celtic. And for me, personally, after missing those six games, it is important to finish the season on a high."

Formally, his longer-term future at Hearts remains in abeyance as he is still a Kaunas player; but presumably, unless Vladimir Romanov has a complete rethink, it would be almost unthinkable for him to be allowed to leave after earning such rave reviews.

"We are still due to sit down and talk about contracts, "he says. "So for the moment I don’t know what will be decided. But of course I’d like to stay in Scotland."

And so, clearly, would everyone associated with the club. "Hearts are definitely keen for him to stay," said an insider. "Everyone knew he was a good player when he arrived, but it’s fair to say he has taken his game on a level since being at Hearts. He’s really set the heather on fire, and much of that is a testament to the coaching of John Robertson and Donald Park."

He certainly talks like a player who is planning to put down some roots, as he is already thinking about next season. "Obviously competing with Rangers and Celtic is tough - they have been up there for many years. But that remains the goal. I think the minimum plan for next season has to be finishing third, of course and obviously getting into the UEFA Cup. Missing out on that this time round was disappointing."

He is also enjoying life in Edinburgh. His English, basic when he arrived, has come on a treat. Most importantly, though, his soon-to-be wife has joined him from Lithuania. "Now Roberta is with me, life is 100 times easier. We’re going to get married in the summer. I’m also very close to Marius [Kyzis] and Deividas [Cesnauskis], and also with Andrius Skerla [at Dunfermline]. We often go out for meals or to watch football together. I think adapting to life here is not so hard if you are from Lithuania - there are definite similarities between the people. I really like this city a lot."

At the end of the season, Miko will be following his heart back to Vilnius for the minor matter of those nuptials, and will also be on international duty for his country. Before that, though, there is every reason to hope and expect that his love affair with Tynecastle is set to be confirmed as a long-term relationship.

Taken from the Scotsman