Striker snubbed Ibrox

DARREN JOHNSTONE

HEARTS striker Edgar Jankauskas last night claimed he rejected overtures from Rangers more than a year ago because they weren't a big enough club to lure him away from Porto.

It emerged last weekend that Ibrox manager Alex McLeish contacted Jose Mourinho, then manager of the Portuguese side, to ask for a reference on the towering Lithuanian internationalist.

Porto stunned the whole of the footballing community in Europe in 2004 when lifting the prized Champions League trophy, with Jankauskas picking up a winner's medal after being an unused substitute against Monaco.

The capture of the experienced marksman by Hearts manager George Burley this summer was seen as a major signing coup in their bid to edge closer to the Old Firm's duopoly. However, explaining why he opted not to come to Scotland after Rangers showed an interest, the 30-year-old said: "Two years ago I was playing at a bigger team than Rangers. The interest didn't go very far, at that time I was playing in Champions League.

"I was at Porto at the time but it's in the past, I now have to look to the future and my future is here. I am just concentrating on my job at Hearts."

Jankauskas has vast Champions League experience after three years at Porto, and he believes his current employers are not a million miles away from having a squad capable of qualifying for Europe's prime club competition.

He added: "It's realistic to aim for the Champions League, but you have to realise you can't build a team in one year, it takes time. The manager and the club need time to do that. Football is a big business these days and it's very competitive, there are a lot of strong teams playing in every country and it's not easy to build a team in one year, two years or even three years.

"Hearts are a very good organisation and if you look at Porto they have always been playing in the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Our team is not at that level yet but we can progress and we will progress.

"It takes time so we have to go step by step but the club is on the right track."

Burley has added undoubted quality to his pool with the signings of Jankauskas, Rudi Skacel, Roman Bednar, Michal Pospisil, Julien Brellier and Euro 2004 winner Takis Fyssas.

However, Jankauskas insists that a healthy team spirit is another reason they've made a perfect start to the league campaign, with the Tynecastle club currently sitting proudly at the summit of the SPL after recording three straight wins.

Speaking ahead of today's visit of Aberdeen, he added: "I have got great team-mates here and they're really friendly.

"There is a good atmosphere in the dressing-room and everything is positive. I don't think it's a question of having big names, what happens on the pitch is important. Other teams such as Rangers and Celtic have bigger names but the spirit of the group is the main factor.

"We are pleased with our start but we realise there is still along way to go, as a team; we are not euphoric because we have only played three games.

"All three games were positive and we hope to continue in a similar manner."

Manager Burley spent midweek scouring Europe for fresh talent and took in both the Czech Under-21 and full team's respective games against Sweden.

The Czech market has served the former Ipswich and Derby manager well with Skacel, who featured for the full team, Bednar, who played and scored for the 21s, and Pospisil all having made impressive starts to their Tynecastle careers.

Burley said: "There were a number of decent players on view but it was nice to see those two in action.

"Our squad is not strong enough yet if we are going to be serious about trying to get into Europe. Mr Romanov (Hearts' major shareholder) is aware of that and there are a few players I would like to bring on board."

Hearts have been boosted with the news that midfielder Paul Hartley is fit after recovering from a dead leg which forced him to pull out of the Scotland team for their midweek clash with Austria.

However, midfielder Julien Brellier is struggling with a twisted ankle, while winger Skacel has a thigh injury.

WEBSTER SETTLED

HEARTS defender Andy Webster insists he is settled at Tynecastle after playing through speculation linking him with a move to Rangers.

The Scotland international was the subject of an Ibrox enquiry in the summer and pulled out of the club's pre-season tour of Ireland.

However, after speaking to Hearts manager George Burley, Webster maintains his commitment to Hearts cannot be questioned.

He said: "The speculation doesn't bother me. All I want to do is play well for Hearts and try to keep our current consistency going. The team is doing well, I want to be a part of it and I want to achieve things with Hearts."

Webster shrugged off missing the pre-season trip. "It gave me an extra few days off, that's all. But that has gone now and my focus is on playing for Hearts."

Taken from the Scotsman