PORTUGUESE trialist Tiago Costa looks to be on his way out of Tynecastle after Hearts assistant coach John McGlynn hinted he would not be offered a deal.

The former Benfica player has been training with the Jambos since their pre-season tour of Austria and featured in two of their three matches, against Spartak Trnava and FC Cluj.

He failed to impress in either of those clashes although boss Valdas Ivanauskas decided to give him another opportunity to win himself a move and invited him back to Scotland with the rest of the squad.

He was a substitute in the 2-1 victory against Preston North End and played in last week's match against Livingston at Almondvale. On Saturday he was part of a young Hearts side that drew 1-1 with Berwick Rangers at Shielfield Park. However, he again failed to shine and was replaced after an hour and now looks to have played his final match for Hearts.

"I don't think there's much point signing someone if they aren't better than what you already have and we already have two right backs," said McGlynn.

"When Nerijus Barasa is available we have cover at right back for Robbie [Neilson].

"They are challenging for that position and it remains to be seen whether he's better than them. If we are going to bring in someone like Cafu then fair enough but we also have young lads who might develop just as well.

"Jason Thomson has gone on loan at Livingston and he plays right back so he'll have another year's development too.

"We'll need to evaluate his (Costa's) situation to see whether he's merited a longer stay here."

Meanwhile, McGlynn has also revealed that teenage midfielder John Neill could be set for a place on the substitutes' bench in Wednesday's Champions League qualifying match against NK Siroki Brijeg at Murrayfield with the Jambos' woes in the middle of the park showing no signs of easing.

Paul Hartley definitely won't feature against the Bosnians while Frenchman Julien Brellier is also struggling for fitness after limping out of the win against Spanish cracks Osasuna. "He's possibly got a chance of making the bench on Wednesday night," said McGlynn.

"Ordinarily we have a lot of competition for central midfield but, as we stand, Julien's out. We don't think it's that bad and we'll give him every opportunity. If he does miss out we obviously have Lee Johnson but other than that we are a wee bit short of options."

Teenagers Calum Elliot and Lee Wallace look certain to miss out against Siroki Brijeg as their commitments with Scotland's under-19 side continue at the European Championships in Poland. The young Scots have progressed to the semi-finals after last night's 3-2 victory over Turkey.

Ticket sales for Wednesday night have gone through the 20,000 mark, with club officials remaining confident that there will be upwards of 25,000 people inside Murrayfield come kick-off time.

Taken from the Scotsman