Jankauskas wary of another cup upset

EDGARAS Jankauskas, the player with arguably the widest breadth of top-class experience in Hearts' squad for Saturday's Tennent's Scottish Cup final, has warned his team-mates to guard against complacency and avoid the trap of underestimating Second Division Gretna at Hampden.

On his travels around the hot spots of European football, it still rankles with the Lithuanian centre-forward, who earned a Champions League medal under Jose Mourinho at Porto, to recall his time with FC Bruges when the club went into the Belgian Cup final in 1998 as odds-on favourites to defeat Racing Genk after clinching the championship. Though hardly outsiders in Gretna's category, Genk, who finished in second place 18 points behind Bruges, had never won the cup.

"Cup finals are completely different from anything else," cautioned the striker. "It's only one game and anything can happen on the day. Everyone looks at us as favourites, and we are the favourites. But I would rather we were playing another Scottish Premierleague side on Sunday than a Second Division club with a once in a lifetime opportunity. We will have plenty of respect for them, all right. You need to respect your opponent. If you don't, it doesn't matter what division they play in, you can still lose the game.

"I remember when I was playing in Belgium with Bruges, we won the title and also got to the cup final and played a weaker team in Racing Genk. What happened? We lost 4-0. It was a big embarrassment - a bad feeling to end the season without a trophy you think you should have won. I really don't want to experience that again.

"So, we have to produce our own best level of performance. If you are playing Rangers or Celtic then you don't need any extra motivation. Gretna have played their way into the final and we must regard them as if they were one of the big teams. I can't say I've been following Gretna's season, but I know they won their league by a large margin. I also know from our own experience in an earlier round of the cup of playing a lower-league side in Partick Thistle. They produced a great performance and made it difficult for us. That was a lesson we must remember."

Bearing in mind his formidable track record outwith Lithuania of playing for Real Sociedad in Spain, Benfica and Porto in Portugal, Moscow Torpedo and CSKA Moscow in Russia, and Nice in France as well as Bruges, it's little wonder the 6ft 4in striker says he doesn't keep count of the medals he's won over the years.

Although the 31-year-old is determined to add a Scottish Cup medal to his collection, Jankauskas was non-committal about how many more opportunities for silverware he'll have with Hearts. On loan for a year - he was signed by Kaunas last summer on a three-year deal - it remains to be seen whether or not Vladimir Romanov will extend the forward's stay in Scotland. Certainly, Jankauskas' ability to hold the ball up and bring others into the game has been a key factor in the club's success. Since Chris Sutton left Celtic, there probably isn't a better player in the SPL with his back to goal.

"Apart from the injuries, everything at Hearts has been perfect," he added. "I'm not thinking about next season yet and there are a lot of possibilities about what might happen. But I like it here - the city, the club and the supporters. Not once this year have I thought about leaving Hearts. When you enjoy your life, that's more important than being with a big-name club."

Jankauskas was speaking at the launch of Hearts' season-ticket sale for next season. The Edinburgh club will make an extra 1,000 seats available, thereby increasing the total number to 13,500. The increased allocation will be offered to existing customers, who may want to introduce a family member or friend to the club. Those tickets not taken up will then be released for public sale. With prices ranging from £80 to £425, demand for season tickets is likely to outstrip supply.

Hearts would not be Hearts, of course, without a flamboyant intervention from owner Vladimir Romanov.

In a message to the club's supporters, he said: "Despite all of the organised baiting by enemies of the club, you did not lose faith in me or my revolution."

Taken from the Scotsman