Miko in plea to the boo boys

THE selection of Saulius Mikoliunas in the Hearts team seems an issue destined to forever ignite debate amongst the club's support.

Indeed, if Vladimir Romanov aspires to seriously challenge the Glasgow-based duopoly of Scottish football this season, he may be forced to consider the possibility that Mikoliunas' continual appearance may be detrimental to his grandiose masterplan.

The Tynecastle support said as much during Saturday's goalless draw with Falkirk, often rising as one to groan and heave as another Mikoliunas pass was misplaced or tackle lost.

No real damage was done as Hearts remain joint top of the SPL after three rounds of matches, however, even the most lenient of fans are beginning to question the Lithuanian's contribution as he struggles to recapture the impressive form of his initial months in Edinburgh back in early 2005.

The club's Russian majority shareholder, as well as appearing to reserve a particular fondness for Miko, has an in-built drive and inclination about him which at times can be greater than those forces which tore down the old Iron Curtain closed shut by the Soviet Union. But given that his astuteness could perhaps only be surpassed in a Scottish context by David Murray, it is surprising to see Romanov dreadfully unaware of the lack of urgency down the Hearts right when Deividas Cesnauskis is absent.

To his credit so far this season, Mikoliunas is offering greater endeavour than he did previously having been requested to increase his work rate by head coach Valdas Ivanauskas and Graham Rix before him. His reward was a goal against AEK Athens last week which still has the potential to be oh so crucial to Hearts. So there can be no debate that the club have at their disposal a player of notable promise, albeit on loan from the Romanov-sponsored Lithuanian club FBK Kaunas.

The connotations of his present lack of cohesion and, at times, confidence could wind up being far more alarming for the team through time, though.

Romanov believes Hearts have the wherewithal to usurp Celtic and Rangers this season, so it is worth pondering whether Paul le Guen, the new Ibrox manager, or Gordon Strachan would slot Mikoliunas into their respective sides with such regularity. Given that neither Old Firm manager is known to suffer fools gladly, the answer would seem obvious.

Football supporters aren't daft. At Tynecastle, they can be overly fickle on occasions like full-time against Falkirk when a chorus of boos emanated from each of the stadium's four stands, but the fans realise that currently they are only seeing a fraction of Mikoliunas' capabilities. It is that frustration which has seen a larger-than-normal portion of criticism aimed in the direction of the mercurial winger.

In the interests of fairness, though, it is only right that the player gets his say. "I don't know why they are being mouthy," says Mikoliunas. "What do they expect? In midfield we sometimes have to play not only forwards, but instead concentrate on keeping the ball. Then they start shouting and we start to look nervous and end up going forward, not playing football just kicking the ball ahead.

"That's just my opinion. Valdas wasn't happy in the dressing-room on Saturday because we needed to win, but you cannot win every game. The supporters must understand this because everybody is giving 100 per cent and sometimes we carry no luck."

What Mirsad Beslija makes of all this is a matter for conjecture. The Bosnian has flattered to deceive since arriving from Racing Genk in January but in fleeting glimpses thus far he looks a player more in tune with the traditional winger's trait of hitting the by-line and firing over crosses. Yet he gets barely a sniff of first-team exposure as Romanov attempts to cut his losses on Hearts' record signing by off-loading him.

Whilst Mikoliunas toils to convince in his position, Beslija is restricted to a seat on the substitutes' bench at best. Few would argue that the form of Cesnauskis through the critical final third of last season and into this one should ensure he is the first choice on the right flank. The problems arise when he is absent, as he was against Falkirk.

"David is sick at the moment with flu so we are waiting until he gets over that," continues Mikoliunas. "I'm not sure how long it will be but it's been a good start to the season for the squad and we are looking forward. It is a long campaign with 35 games to go. It will be great to play against Rangers this weekend and then follow up by going to Athens. That's the kind of games we wanted and that's what I'm concentrating on."

Mikoliunas, like most inside Tynecastle, believed Falkirk were fortunate to avoid being reduced to ten men on Saturday after Kenny Milne's shove on Roman Bednar. He was also irked to hear the views of visiting manager John Hughes on the home players' alleged intimidation of referee John Underhill.

"We thought there should have been a red card but it's not right for the Falkirk manager to say we were complaining to the referee all the time. We don't do this," insisted the Lithuanian.

With more pressing issues looming on the horizon both at club and international level, Mikoliunas is content to let the issue lie. Next week he will return to eastern Europe not to participate in Lithuania's international friendly with Moldova in Chisinau, but in the country's European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Georgia which takes place on familiar ground for the Hearts player - Kaunas' St Darius and St Girenas stadium.

He points out: "The full national side is playing a friendly and normally I would like to play for the full team, but the under-21 fixture is a European Championship qualifier so the coach has decided I should play in that match because it is competitive. I admit it's always good to get home and see family and friends when I get the chance."

After that it's back to the mundane pressure of day-to-day life at Hearts.

"Pressure? What pressure? There is no pressure," he laughs. "Of course there is pressure to win the title, but that is normal."

Maybe that highly-charged atmosphere is the very cause of the recent berating suffered by one of Lithuania's favourite sons. With Romanov in charge from whichever far-flung European destination he happens to be inhabiting through any given week, director of sport Anatoli Korobochka and his "consultant" Eduard Malofeev work in tandem with the industrious Ivanauskas at the club's Riccarton training base.

When the time comes for team sheets to be filled out, Mikoliunas' name is regularly penned in. Whether or not that is for the betterment of Hearts at the moment, the support already appear to have decided.

Taken from the Scotsman