IT'S CRUCIAL I MIK MY MARK

SAULIUS MIKOLIUNAS' sense of injustice famously once drove him to barge assistant referee Andy Davis.

But the Lithuanian would beat himself up tonight if the Tynecastle club made the journey back to Edinburgh without the Scottish Cup for company on the team bus.

The emotions he felt when Rangers were awarded a last-minute penalty under controversial circumstances last season would look like total indifference if Second Division Gretna shocked the favourites and lifted the trophy.

But feeling the strain is preferable to the apathy that surrounded Miko's last experience of a cup final.

He said: "I was with Kaunas when we won the trophy in Lithuania but I missed the game because I was injured.

"The final wasn't even played in the capital and the crowd was around about 2000 people because most people were more interested in basketball at that time.

"People there now take notice of what Hearts are doing but they're still not like the Scots. They live for football in this country.

"When I walk in the streets in Edinburgh the fans say 'Miko, Miko' and come over to tell me how desperate they are for Hearts to win the Cup again."

Today's game could be Miko's last match in a Hearts jersey unless he can sort out a new deal at the end of his loan period at the club. But he gives the impression nowhere else would be quite the same for him.

He said: "I want to stay because the club has made it into the Champions League qualifiers and I would like to be part of that experience.

"That's the level I want to play at and a good performance at Hampden would be a big help in my negotiations with Hearts."

Miko has been in Scotland long enough now to understand the significance of today's game.

He said: "I've understood from my first match in the Scottish Cup that the tournament is important to the fans and I know all ab out the big celebrations they had in Edinburgh when Hearts beat Rangers in 1998.

"I'd like to be part of that again this weekend.

"I'm anxious to do the best I can for the team in order to please the supporters. We can't let them down and that's why I have such a fear of embarrassment against Gretna.

"All the pressure is on us because we're expected to win against a team from a lower division.

"Everybody in Lithuania is happy for us because they think Hearts have deserved their success.

"But I can take nothing for granted here because I have respect for Gretna and what they've achieved.

"Hearts have to remember the heights we reached when we took four goals off Hibs in the semifinals and the way in which we dismantled Celtic at Tynecastle.

"Those are the same heights we're expected to reach against Gretna."