Burley waiting in the wings to swoop for Skacel

HEARTS head coach Valdas Ivanauskas remains confident Rudi Skacel will still be at Tynecastle next season despite renewed interest from Southampton.

George Burley, a predecessor of Ivanauskas' at Tynecastle and the man who brought Skacel to Hearts, has admitted he would be interested in signing the Czech midfielder for the south coast club as they re-strengthen ahead of another attempt at promotion back to the Premiership next season.

It is thought the player's wages remain comfortably inside the Saints' budget while strengthening the Championship side's hand is the cooling of interest from two Premiership clubs.

"Rudi is a player I brought to Hearts, and he has done tremendously well," said Burley when asked specifically about Skacel this week.

"I don't know if he is staying at Hearts, but there is a chance they will qualify or the Champions League. If available, he is a player we'd be interested in. Whether he is available is a different matter."

Skacel's one-year loan deal from Marseille expires this summer and although his form has shaded recently he is regarded as a lynch-pin of the Hearts team by supporters. They were left perturbed by reports last weekend that had Skacel storming away from Tynecastle in some distress after having been left out of the squad completely for the clash with Dunfermline. This brought to a head a period of recent negativity surrounding the player, with Skacel having been accused of relying too much on gamesmanship by opponents in recent weeks.

Ivanauskas yesterday confirmed that Skacel would return to the squad for today's match against Kilmarnock, which, if won, will secure at the very least UEFA Cup football for Hearts next season.

And he also revealed he had what he described as a "good feeling" that Skacel will still be at Hearts next season.

When asked about the player's reaction to last Saturday's disappointment in training this week, Ivanauskas said he had seen elements of the "old Rudi" and that Hearts required that version of the player.

Skacel certainly began the season in productive form under the then head coach Burley, scoring in his side's first seven league games, all of which were won.

Last weekend, however, he was dropped completely for the first time, with Ivanauskas delivering a vague explanation which centred on the need for the player to rest before the run-in to the season. Reports then surfaced of Skacel feeling unsettled. The player said he was certain of only one thing, and that was the fact he wouldn't be returning to Marseille, with whom he revealed there had been no contact since he moved to Tynecastle.

Ivanauskas admitted he had sat down with Skacel this week in an attempt to gee the player up for the final six games of the season, the last of which is the Scottish Cup final against Gretna.

"I spoke with Rudi," confirmed Ivanauskas. "He is in the squad tomorrow. We need the old Rudi. And we have seen the old Rudi this week. I have a good feeling he will still be here next season."

Regarding the matter of Skacel apparently stomping out of Tynecastle last week prior to the match against Dunfermline, Ivanauskas said they had discussed this incident and agreed to let it lie.

"I gave him my opinion, and I asked his opinions," explained Ivanauskas. "And we had a good discussion. It's okay."

It is imperative that Hearts have a fully focused Skacel in tow as they seek to fight off the challenge of Rangers for the second Champions League qualifying place. Although a berth in the UEFA Cup would represent a step forward from last season it would still not satisfy fans who have been beguiled all season by the prospect of Champions League football.

"It would be nice," said Ivanauskas, when asked to contemplate the possibility of UEFA Cup football being secured this afternoon. "But the players want more. Tomorrow is a very hard game against Kilmarnock. They beat us in the last game so we know how strong they are. They are the sixth best team in Scotland, and every team wants to win against Hearts now.

"I have said before we have had a good season, but not yet a great season. We have a strong chance in the Champions League and the cup, so why not?"

Ivanauskas has no fresh injury worries, with Finnish internationalist Juho Makela in line for a first start after his debut goal for the club last Saturday.

Makela's Hearts career has thus far been a slow burning one but the player hopes to take advantage of the momentum last week's strike has given him. Despite being signed in January, the Finn has only made two substitute appearances but he claims to be approaching his optimum period after being used to starting his season in April, rather than finishing it.

"In Finnish football the season usually starts around this time so I feel really good now, and I can't tell you how much my first goal last week meant to me," said Makela. "It's been so hard at the beginning of my career here, and so it was a relief to get my first goal for the club."

His period of settling-in at the club Tynecastle was complicated by the abrupt sacking of Graham Rix, the head coach ostensibly responsible for signing him in January. But although Rix restricted Makela's appearances to just one run-out as substitute against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup, he managed to have a positive impact on Makela before he left last month.

Along with a raft of fellow new signings, Makela was sent to what was described as a boot camp in an attempt to address the problem of their unsatisfactory fitness levels.

"I wasn't at my best," the striker admitted. "I needed it. I also had a problem with my hamstring. It's been a tough race to get here, but I think I am in better shape now and I just hope I get another chance."
County eye Houston

THE former Hearts assistant manager Peter Houston is in discussions with Ross County regarding the vacant managerial position at Victoria Park, writes Ewan Murray.

Ross County's director of football George Adams confirmed last night that Houston is one of a "number of people" the club are talking to with a view to replacing Gardner Speirs, who left Dingwall earlier this month in controversial circumstances.

"We need to get someone in before the end of the season," said Adams, who confirmed that the club had approached Houston rather than vice-versa, "and Peter is one of a number of people we are talking to with a view to doing that."

Houston was sacked by Championship side Leicester City in January along with manager Craig Levein, with whom he assisted at Tynecastle after being brought to Hearts by Jim Jefferies.
Littbarski deal stalls

PIERRE Littbarski, who was this week linked with the Hearts job, has not signed a contract extension with Sydney FC and the former West Germany international is not entirely happy with the Australian club's offer, it has emerged, writes Duncan Smith.

Yesterday the Sydney chairman appeared to kill speculation the three-time World Cup finalist could be a contender for the Tynecastle post when he announced the coach had agreed to stay. But Littbarski told an Australian newspaper that he would not be signing any new deal until he returned from a two-week holiday. "I will consult my lawyers because there are things [in the contract] I would like to change," he said before flying to Japan. It is believed the former Yokohama coach, who this week said it would be an "honour" to speak with Hearts has been asked to take 30 per cent cut on his current £290,000 salary.

Taken from the Scotsman