EASTERN PROMISE

HEARTS' new eastern European front men made a dramatic impact on their SPL bow - but skipper Steven Pressley reckons the best is yet to come.

Lithuanian Edgaras Jankauskas and Czech star Roman Bednar took centre stage on their competitive debuts for the Edinburgh club on Saturday as they bulldozed Kilmarnock.

Bednar grabbed a crucial goal while Jankauskas won the penalty which tied up an impressive opening day win for new boss George Burley.

And Pressley believes there will be more of this magic from the towering strikers when they can get themselves into shape properly.

The defender said: "Edgaras and Roman are very mobile and that's not often the case with target men.

"They're big lads who put themselves about but both can play. I thought they were both excellent.

"It's early days yet but the signs are good.

"Roman got off to a great start with a goal on his debut.

"But I thought that Edgaras's all-round team play was excellent and he played a big part in Roman's goal.

"The foreign players arrived at the club quite late so they're not at peak fitness yet.

"Edgaras has had very little pre-season and I don't think Roman had much either so they're still playing catch-up.

"There's still a bit for them both to go. I think that's why the manager replaced Roman after only 60-odd minutes.

"That will save him and make sure that he doesn't pick up any injuries.

"But another pleasing aspect was the performance of young Callum Elliott when he came on.

"In the last couple of pre-season games his performances have been excellent.

"He also made a huge contribution here and when there's a lot of foreign players coming in it's nice to see young guys coming through too. "

The Jambos captain also heaped praise on the 3,200-strong travelling support which had the away section at Rugby Park bursting at the seams.

And Pressley puts that huge following down to the feelgood factor brought about by the shake-up at the club pushed through by chief Vladimir Romanov.

He said: "With all the changes that have taken place in the summer I think there's a sense of optimism about the place and that was reflected in the turn-out.

"They certainly got right behind the side and that's great.

"There has also been an increase in season ticket sales. I think we've sold 9,000-plus, which is always a very positive sign.

"Everyone's been sceptical about Mr Romanov's statements but he has been true to his word on everything so far.

"We have brought in new faces - and not just new faces but players of real quality."

The away side dominated this game for long stretches but it was Kilmarnock who took the lead in 11 minutes.

The livewire Steven Naismith found space in the box to squeeze a shot past Craig Gordon.

But the maroon contingent in the crowd had to wait just 60 seconds for an equaliser.

New signing Rudolph Skacel stabbed the ball past Killie keeper Alan Combe at the second attempt.

Bednar then put the Edinburgh side ahead straight after the break when all three of Burley's new recruits combined to set him up for a header which brushed a post before taking an age to cross the line.

Number three was the pick of the bunch and came from the boot of silky Lithuanian Saulius Mikoliunas who found space 25 yards out to fire a thunderbolt past Combe.

Gordon Greer threw Kilmarnock a lifeline with a bullet header from Gary Locke's free-kick but it wasn't to be their day. Hearts clinched the win when Jankauskas was chopped down in the box by Locke and Paul Hartley sealed the game from the spot.

Hearts manager Burley was chuffed with the win but wasn't getting carried away as his side now prepare for this weekend's derby with Hibs.

And he revealed that he hopes to complete three more signings before the transfer window closes.

He said: "I was really impressed with the work ethic.

"When we lost the ball we didn't have any passengers.

"Jankauskas is quality. He isn't 100 per cent fit, and neither is Roman Bednar, but they are certainly two good strikers.

"Next week we should be close to signing three new players.

"I said before that the club let eight or nine go last season and we needed six new signings.

"We have three so far and hopefully before the deadline we'll have a number of new faces."

Killie boss Jim Jefferies was left cursing his side's defensive lapses.

He said: "We did well to get in front but never got a chance to enjoy it.

"In under a minute they were level. We'd switched off.

"Simon Ford and Gordon Greer did okay but they made mistakes which cost us goals. You can't do that.

"You'd rather have a bad game and a clean sheet."

Taken from the Mirror