Miko's craving a heart to Hearts

SAUNTERING in for a discussion about tomorrow's trip across the Forth to Dunfermline, Saulius Mikoliunas is almost a perfect illustration of the kind of confidence and assurance brought by a manager's faith. Almost.

The Lithuanian has found himself back in the Hearts side in recent weeks after a long period of early-season inactivity and for that he expresses fulsome gratitude to head coach Graham Rix, whose early tenure at Tynecastle seems to have passed equally as smoothly in the dressing room as his predecessor's initiation period.

Of course, in George Burley's case, the marriage with Hearts swiftly fell apart after his managerial honeymoon spell had ended. That analogy would not be lost on Mikoliunas, who incurred the wrath of his ex-boss for reporting for pre-season training a week late due to being in post-wedding bliss with his new spouse.

With Burley gone and Rix now settled in his place, Mikoliunas has been restored to the front line at Tynecastle, having gone the entire months of September and October without making an appearance for his club. But there remains the gnawing uncertainty over his loan contract from FBK Kaunas, which is due to expire on January 31.

With Mirsad Beslija costing Hearts around £850,000, we must assume the Bosnian to be an extremely accomplished right winger and as such virtually the finished article as a core member of his national team. For Miko, whose favoured role is also wide right, that may not be a good thing.

The Lithuanian is fit to face Dunfermline despite a strapping around his healing ankle as he conducts this interview, but admits his bewilderment over the long-term future.

"The injury is not too bad. Getting better. I should be okay to play at Dunfermline. I got 70 minutes against Kilmarnock last weekend and that has helped my fitness.

"I am quick to adjust to different places and I feel I have adapted well here. I enjoy life here and the lifestyle is very good. Edinburgh is a very nice city, but if I have to go back [to Kaunas] then I will because we have had no talks about a new contract for me."

Hearts supporters may be confused over their club's failure to initiate discussions with one of their cult heroes but, for the moment, they will sense that securing three points in Fife is a more pressing priority if the coat tails of Celtic are to remain in their grasp.

Two league visits to East End Park last season returned only one point after a single-goal defeat and a 1-1 draw. However, a 3-1 victory there in the CIS Insurance Cup provides a more heartening statistic for those seeking omens.

Along with suspension-free Takis Fyssas and new signing Lee Johnson, who is likely to be on the bench, Mikoliunas is in the frame to play. Under Rix, that has been the case whenever he has been fit.

He said: "At the start of the season, I don't think George Burley liked my playing style. Every coach wants to play his own system and maybe I wasn't the player he wanted.

"In our first five games this season I played but then I was a little tired and after that he never gave me a second chance. I just had to work hard and wait for the next chance.

"I like Graham Rix's system. He is a good man, he explains very clearly what he wants me to do and I understand what he wants from me. Graham has impressed me and the rest of the players. We have played some fantastic football over the last two or three games, and against Celtic we did especially well. I think we may need to improve our fitness as a squad but overall I think we will be okay this season."

By Rix's side is Mikoliunas' compatriot, Valdas Ivanauskas, suggested by many to be an ally of the 21-year-old along with the club's majority shareholder, Vladimir Romanov. Mikoliunas was reported to have sought counsel from Romanov earlier in the season after his souring of relations with Burley but the young winger denies benefiting from any supposed favouritism.

"We are not so close," he said. "We only speak sometimes but he speaks to the whole team sometimes. It has been written that I asked Mr Romanov to help me get in the team but that is not true. I would never to that.

"Valdas is in good contact with Graham Rix and he also explains to me what Graham is looking for. He was my coach with the national team because he was the assistant manager there so I knew him well. He also coached me at Kaunas."

Rix found himself undertaking a task similar to that of a psychologist when he inherited Mikoliunas from Burley, but his methods with the dispirited winger seem to have worked.

"In Miko, I see someone who has got ability and who needs confidence," said Rix.

"He needs enough confidence from within himself but also from the coaching staff saying, 'you can do this' for him to do it on a consistent level.

"He has listened to what I've said."

Rix has previously used Mikoliunas' humble nature as the subject of a joke, recalling how the player was the first to hand the Englishman his gloves on a freezing cold day on the wide open back pitches of Riccarton. He said: "Not long after I came in, I had forgotten my gloves one day as we went out to train so I asked if anyone would be willing to lend me a pair. Miko was first, so of course he's going to play."

That tongue-in-cheek comment helps to highlight the harmony constructed between players and manager at a club which has willingly adopted a "them against us" approach this season under the constant glare of media attention.

There will be further scrutiny of their efforts against Dunfermline tomorrow afternoon as their hosts, the SPL's second-bottom side, attempt to erase from their minds the memory of last week's home defeat by Airdrie United in the Scottish Cup third round.

Victory is almost essential for Hearts. "We want to win and that is all that matters," says Mikoliunas.

In his true, honest manner, he will be giving everything to help achieve the stated aim.

Taken from the Scotsman