Valdas given nod by Vlad

VALDAS IVANAUSKAS has been confirmed as permanent head coach of Hearts, with the experienced Russian Eduard Malofeev as the club's new sporting director.

The appointments were made formal last night on the luxury cruise liner hired by majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov just off the south coast of France.

The Hearts squad returned to Edinburgh today after having the identities of their new management team confirmed.

Ivanauskas will continue in command of all first-team affairs after guiding the side to the Scottish Cup and into the Champions League qualifying rounds during his tenure as interim head coach at the latter part of last season. He will be assisted by John McGlynn.

Malofeev, who has spent the week by Ivanauskas' side in France integrating himself with his new colleagues, has been given the supervisory role of sporting director.

That will see him operate very much as a background figure offering his strategic coaching knowledge to Hearts at all levels.

In a move first revealed by the Evening News on Wednesday, Ivanauskas returned to prominence in the eyes of majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov after negotiations with the former Dynamo Kiev coach Alexei Mikhailichenko dissipated.

Romanov had been ready to hand control of all footballing issues to Mikhailichenko, however it is believed that the Ukrainian talked himself out of the job with his insistence that former Rangers colleague Oleg Kuznetsov was also installed at Tynecastle in a coaching capacity.

Romanov saw no need for an extra coach with Ivanauskas and McGlynn already on the staff, and instead moved quickly to recruit Malofeev and place his faith in Ivanauskas. The Lithuanian was the favoured choice of 98 per cent of Hearts supporters in an Evening News poll last month, and will be paraded by Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday as he has flown to Moscow with Romanov to conclude the final details of his new contract.

Ivanauskas said today: "I never hid my desire to become the head coach of Hearts and I am very pleased that this dream has been realised. We have a massive season ahead of us, with big pressure to face. We have some excellent players, and I am sure we will make good progress. It is an exciting time to be associated with Heart of Midlothian."

Hearts captain Steven Pressley added: "Naturally, myself and the rest of the players are delighted at today's news. It is something that we, as a team, have wanted. The stability that Valdas brings to the coaching side of the club can never be undervalued.

"This has given us a tremendous boost prior to the season starting."

Ivanauskas and Malofeev take Hearts to Austria on Monday for a ten-day training camp, where they will play friendly matches against LASK Linz and the Slovakian side Partak Trnava in the tiny resort of Windischgarsten.

The tour is completed by a third game against FC Cluj of Romania in Schladning.

Ivanauskas will then take his first bow as head coach in front of home supporters when Hearts entertain the Spanish side Osasuna on Wednesday, July 19, a game that is almost certain to take place at Murrayfield. Malofeev, 64, was born in the central Russian city of Kolomna and is a trusted lieutenant of Romanov. He has been coaching FBK Kaunas, the Lithuanian club who are heavily financed by the Hearts owner, since last December and before that was head of youth development at MTZ Ripo of Belarus, who are also dependent on the monetary security offered by Romanov.

Malofeev also coached the Belarussian national team between 2000 and 2003. However, his greatest feat in management occurred back in 1982 when he led the highly unfancied Dinamo Minsk to the championship in the old Soviet Supreme League.

As Malofeev arrives, Rudi Skacel and Andy Webster seem certain to depart the club to rejoin former manager George Burley at Southampton, as the Evening News revealed on Monday.

Brazilian midfielder Samuel Almeida Camazzola has already parted company with Hearts after his loan deal from the South American club Juventude was not renewed.

Meanwhile, rumoured Hearts target Marian Pahars was due for a medical at Coventry City today.

Taken from the Scotsman