Impressed Hartley backs Ivanauskas for permanent role as head coach

VALDAS Ivanauskas should be made head coach of Hearts on a permanent basis, according to one of the chief architects of his success in the caretaker role.

Paul Hartley yesterday delivered a robust defence of the Lithuanian's capabilities, speaking at length to convey the fact his admiration of Ivanauskas goes beyond the polite respect paid to a new boss.

It might have been a vain appeal, given that owner Vladimir Romanov has said he does not see Ivanauskas's experience as being sufficient, but it seems the Tynecastle players are motivated by more than personal glory as they march towards a cherished qualifying berth for the Champions League. Hartley is eager to do it for Valdas, and believes he is not alone.

"I've been impressed with him, and I think he's done fantastically well," said Hartley, who scored a hat-trick in the Scottish Cup demolition of Hibs and the breakthrough goal against Kilmarnock last Saturday - two of the four wins achieved in five games since Ivanauskas took over from Graham Rix.

"I really hope that he gets the job. Speaking for the players, I think they would hope that too. He hasn't changed a lot, he has just come in and his English is OK. He gets his point across well, so training has been fantastic."

The Scotland midfielder was keen to destroy the misconception that the former Hamburg player has a pale temperament, using as evidence the angry rampage enacted by the coach during Hearts' 1-0 defeat at Celtic Park two weeks ago that led to a touchline ban.

"He's very impressive. I think in the last five or six weeks we've played some of our best stuff," said Hartley. "People will look at him and say he's not got much of a personality, but that's not true. We see a different side to him. He really loves his football; that's probably why he has ended up with a two-match ban.

"It just shows you that he cares, and it rubs off on the players. If you see someone like that it makes you do the same. I hope he gets the job, but obviously it's not for me to decide. He played at a high level with Hamburg. He wants us to play some good football, and we have really good attacking players in the team."

Hartley noted that, in terms of communication skills, Ivanauskas has most of the assets peculiar to what Hearts require. The job requires more than gaining a slick grasp of English, which he has achieved during a season on the backroom staff at Riccarton. Catering for foreign players is an advantage, too.

"Valdas probably has a quick word with [fellow Lithuanians] Cesnauskis, Mikoliunas and Jankauskas before a game," said Hartley. "Since he has come in, he has been first-class."

As Hearts approach another meeting with their cross-city foes at Easter Road on Saturday, there is a sense of watchfulness in the maroon camp. It is inscribed on the chalkboard that Hibs will be stung from their 4-0 spanking at Hampden and, propelled by the memory of beating Hearts 2-0 at home earlier in the season, will offer far sterner resistance than in that recent semi-final.

Hartley, aware that Rangers face a daunting task of their own to reduce the five-point margin between the teams this weekend - the Ibrox side travel to face Celtic on Sunday - said: "I don't think on Saturday it would be a disaster if we picked up one point. But we are looking for three.

"The pressure is on us. We are sitting second with the five-point cushion. Rangers are playing some mind games. We've never been in this position and it's about how we handle it at this stage of the season. The next four games are going to be the biggest games of some of our lives. The carrot's there. The reason Mr Romanov put that amount of money into the club is because they want to see Champions League football.

"But as I said before, there is no guarantee if we finish second that we will play Champions League football. You see what happened to Celtic last year."

The thought of such a calamity as Celtic's destruction at the hands of Artmedia brought Hartley on to the subject of Hearts' ability to finish a great season in appropriate style - something that proved beyond them in 1986.

Asked if there had been any talk of scratching that 20-year itch, Hartley said: "No, I think we've just been caught up with winning games. But everyone knows what happened in '86, they lost a cup final and lost the league. We're not going to win the league this season but we've got one of our better chances of achieving success."

Taken from the Scotsman