Beslija to climb the mountain

AS FAR as costly investments go, Mirsad Beslija has hitherto been Hearts' equivalent of the Scottish Parliament building: A spiralling monetary mess which has given little return for its inflated expenditure.

Whilst the flaws in Scotland's much troubled house of governance continue to betray themselves like a thorn in the side of the embarrassed Executive, Hearts' negotiation of a three-year, £9000-a-week deal for Beslija back in January has brought similar acrimony on the other side of Edinburgh.

That assumption, though, is dependant upon your point of view. Strictly speaking, Beslija has cost Hearts a mere £160,000 to date as majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov refuses to part with the remaining 80 per cent of the £800,000 transfer fee he agreed with Belgium's Racing Genk.

The reasons for assuming such a callous stance remain shrouded in mystery, but £160,000 is a considerably less severe hit for the purse-string pullers at Tynecastle, equating to £32,000 for each of Beslija's five appearances for the club thus far. It is safe to assume that by offering the Bosnian back to Genk only last month in return for a waiving of the outstanding £640,000 - a proposition instantly rebuffed by the Belgians - Romanov has been less than enamoured by his investment.

Genk have since filed an official complaint to FIFA about Hearts' conduct during the transfer, the likely outcome of which should see Romanov ordered to wire the remaining cash from his UKIO Bank headquarters to Belgium pretty smartly.

"All our grievances have been passed on to the football federation here in Belgium, FIFA and the Scottish FA," says Genk's sporting director, Willy Reynders. "We are waiting to hear reaction from the SFA and FIFA, but at the moment Hearts have not paid the money for Beslija.

"The company that was supposed to be paying us the fee now says it has no money. It is a company owned by the president of Hearts, so now the matter is in the hands of FIFA."

Caught in the middle, as always, is the player. The 27-year-old Beslija agreed to move to Edinburgh in the belief that he would further his career. Six months later - nothing. Or, at best, very little.

Reading are one of several English clubs to have intimated an interest in the winger, but regardless of Romanov's machinations a return to Belgium is definitely out of the question.

"The money issue is not a problem for me personally, but I don't know what the problem is with Hearts," says Beslija. "I can't speak for Hearts or Genk on this matter. What I will say is that I'm not going back to Genk, I want to play for Hearts.

"The new season is a new chance for me, I want to play in the Scottish championship and in the Champions League. During my first six months I had a change of league and a change of football system to cope with.

"In Scotland it is very hard football, very strong, very physical. It was difficult because I found the football so hard. This was a problem for me because all the football I had played previously was more gentle with more passes. Maybe this year I will get more opportunities to play."

In that respect, he should count his blessings that head coach Valdas Ivanauskas, right, invited him to the club's pre-season training camp in Austria. Of the Lithuanian's 23-man squad, none have greater cause to express themselves than Beslija, particularly when he considers that capable colleagues like Chris Hackett, Lee Johnson and Jamie McAllister have been rendered surplus to requirements for this ten-day workout, a stand that casts an ever-darkening shadow over their futures at Tynecastle.

But for a slight rib injury, Beslija would have been virtually guaranteed to start this evening's friendly with LASK Linz in Windischgarsten with Ivanauskas and his assistant John McGlynn keen to witness for themselves just how extensive the Bosnian's reinvigoration process has been.

"The ball's in his court," admits McGlynn. "I said at the end of last season that we would need to hit the ground running this year, and in this situation where we have three games it's up to Mirsad to show us his capabilities. He picked up an injury in the latter part of the week in France so he hasn't taken part in any contact training.

"Hopefully he will be fit to take part in the games over here, and if that's the case he has to stake a claim with Valdas and myself via his performances on the pitch. It's wide open regarding who is going to play regularly this season, and the best performers will play."

Some have speculated that Hearts must have been duped into the Beslija signing given the evidence of his paltry return as the club's record capture. That, though, would appear a premature assumption. It is without question that the man he usurped as the costliest employee at Tynecastle, John Robertson, will forever enjoy the kind of cult following only available to the Bosnian in his dreams.

Nevertheless, there remains an underlying suspicion that this player has more to bring to the table, a point he has been keen to stress during the early days of the Austria tour. "I'm the record signing and I don't play," Beslija laughs with irony.

"For six months I haven't kicked a ball but that is because of the time it has taken me to adapt. This year I will be a very good player. I have improved physically and every game I am watching to learn about the Scottish way. Even in training I am looking to see how I can become stronger.

"My favourite position is right side, I like to get down the right side using my speed and put crosses into the box. I'm grateful to Valdas for giving me this time and now I want my chance with Hearts. They are a very big club, the third biggest in Scotland. They have a chance to play in the group stages of the Champions League, and I believe it is possible to finish first in the SPL. Why couldn't we win the Scottish Cup for the second consecutive year, too?

"I signed a three-year contract with Hearts, so maybe my chance is coming. I want a place in the side, and we have three games to play here, starting tonight."

Hearts may yet be forced to part with the full £800,000 for Beslija, but crucially there now appears a genuine willingness on the part of the player to justify the hype that accompanies exorbitant transfer fees. Falling apart like a certain building at Holyrood simply won't do.

Taken from the Scotsman