Valdas is under starters orders as tough new campaign looms

MANY doubted it would happen the once, fewer still believe it can happen again but Hearts have honed a fine recipe for humble pie and would love to dispense some more at the end of this season.

Splitting the Old Firm to finish the most recent campaign in second place before lifting the Scottish Cup to cap the most successful season in the club's post-war history, they have set high standards.

It is exactly what has been demanded by owner Vladimir Romanov and it's apparently something the players thrive on. Which is just as well, as now qualification to the Champions League group stages has been added to a growing list of demands.

"There is always pressure," admits manager Valdas Ivanauskas, a man who is likely to feel it more than most, given Romanov's track record when it comes to the hiring and firing of first-team coaches. "Every day we have targets. The last season was a good season for Hearts. We know that to stay on the same level is a big task.

"It's always difficult to stay on the same level and it's one of the main tasks. But it's also our aim to strive for bigger targets.

"Every time you reach the top level or you think you are at the top, you are not because there is always another horizon, another top level. It's the same for the players, they have targets and they reach their targets but then another target appears before them and that is how life works. You set up targets, you reach them and then you strive for another one.

"Life and football are the same, you always will find a new target that you have never noticed before and you will try and reach it."

Hearts may have to do so without further additions to the squad. Puffing out his cheeks before exhaling deeply, Ivanauskas is far from upbeat at the prospects of landing either of the latest names on his wish list, Hristos Karipidis and Mauricio Pinilla.

"The situation is basically the same, there is no news. I am still looking for an answer from the club and the club is trying to make a compromise but the situation is the same.

"I have a bad feeling. There are a couple of players I am interested in but before the qualifying game there will not be any changes."

There are also doubts over the fitness of midfielders Paul Hartley, Julien Brellier and Neil McCann for Wednesday's match against Siroki Brijeg, while Jose Goncalves has also been ruled out for the early part of the domestic league season.

It is a domestic campaign which will see the Tynecastle club under the spotlight. While Celtic and Rangers have both seen personnel changes over the close season, the new-look line-ups are not vexing their main opponents in the east.

"Celtic and Rangers are the biggest teams in Scotland and they are going to be our opponents," admitted the Lithuanian coach, "but there are other teams, like Dundee United, Aberdeen that also have strong teams. Especially Rangers, though, as they have a new manager and I think it will be a big season for them but we will also be prepared and ready."

It is the arrival of Paul le Guen at Ibrox, allied to the fact that last season Celtic bettered the Tynecastle side by 17 points, which has people once again belittling Hearts' chances of upsetting the so-called natural order of the league placings. Ivanauskas merely shrugs in response to such scepticism. He will let his players do the talking. He hopes they can get the message across with early wins on European duty, on Wednesday, and against Dunfermline when the league kicks off next weekend. If they don't he is confident there will be no panic.

"With a good start you can get to your target quicker but take Celtic last season, they did not make a good start but they had a target to improve and they did that. The target at the end of the season is to be on top. That is the most important one."

Fighting to retain the trophy and the kudos earned last term is an onerous task but no-one should be fooled into believing the thought is daunting anyone at Hearts.

"Of course we are looking forward to it. We are looking for some good news and for players to try to get to a level higher and then higher again. I am happy with our pre-season, especially regarding the training, which was ideal."

What is not so helpful is a European tie against Bosnian opposition as the first competitive match, but again the manager is stoical.

"We have received some information on the team and we are going to prepare and study for it. As far as I know they are a strong and good team but we have a good chance. This team is made of players who came from Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and they are very technical and strong.

"Of course they will have a target to defend, but I don't think they will only defend. We have got a good strong team and we have a lot of international players that have played in European games so we have a good advantage. Some of the players are playing for the first time but I have a good feeling about it. We have two games coming and we are at home first and it's always nice when you reach a good result at home so you can go to another country prepared. It is nice to finish everything in the first game."

Completing the task in the first 90 minutes may be difficult, but as Hearts proved last term they can be patient when it comes to proving a point.

Taken from the Scotsman