Worth the wait

STEVEN PRESSLEY today admitted the Hearts players had resigned themselves to Valdas Ivanauskas being denied the opportunity to become their permanent head coach.

Ivanauskas was confirmed in his new position yesterday, with 64-year-old Russian Eduard Malofeev as sporting director but his squad had virtually accepted that a new man would be arriving above his head this summer.

Vladimir Romanov's formal installation of Ivanauskas ended weeks of speculation on who would lead Hearts in the coming campaign since the Lithuanian won the Scottish Cup and steered the side into the Champions League qualifying rounds while operating as interim head coach.

Pressley conceded that, as the rumours intensified throughout June with Alexei Mikhailichenko being heavily quoted for a role in Gorgie, he and his colleagues were certain that they would be forced to embrace their sixth manager in under two years.

"We all believed that, if it was going to be Valdas, then it would be a quick appointment. That didn't appear to be the case and the appointment took a lot longer," said Pressley. "But the players are very much behind Valdas. Since he took over as interim head coach our performances under him were extremely positive and we took on a brand of football that the supporters were very satisfied with.

"I met Mr Romanov after the cup final and I told him the players felt Valdas was right for the job. He's made the right appointment. I like a manager who has a presence and Valdas carries authority. I think, with every good manager, there is a line you do not cross. You'd be a brave man to cross Valdas' line. The whole coaching staff have had their positions clarified now, which is very important. John McGlynn, Stevie Frail, Tom Ritchie - these guys bring us stability. Let's hope it lasts for some time."

Meanwhile, Hearts' prospective European opponents, Shakhtyor Soligorsk, will be forced to move their Champions League qualifying ties away from the tiny Shakhtyor Stadium.

The Belarussian club's home, which has a 5000 capacity, does not comply with UEFA's international standards and is being renovated.

Therefore Shakhtyor will play the first qualifying round against Siroki Brijeg of Bosnia at the Gomel Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 10,000 but is almost 200 miles south of Soligorsk. Should Shakhtyor cause an upset and defeat the seeded Bosnians, Hearts will then visit the same venue in the second qualifying round.

Campbell Ogilvie, general secretary and operations director at Tynecastle, said today: "I met representatives of both our possible European opponents after the draw in Nyon. Because it's one of two teams makes it's more difficult for us to put things in place but we will have representatives attending both venues shortly to make arrangements.

"Shakhtyor have said they would be moving to another venue, the Gomel Stadium, because their own is being renovated. We are still waiting on them confirming the potential venue. Siroki Brijeg will play in their own stadium as far as I know, but both venues and both dates have still to be confirmed to us."

Taken from the Scotsman