Head coach Valdas rules himself out of job with national side

VALDAS IVANAUSKAS has not spoken with the Lithuanian Football Federation about returning as their assistant coach, insisting his job as Hearts head coach is too demanding for him to consider a secondary role.

Weekend reports had suggested that Ivanauskas was being primed for a part-time position to assist the Lithuanian national coach Algimantas Liubinskas, who managed Ivanauskas during his playing career with Zalgiris Vilnius.

As Scotland prepare to confront Lithuania on Wednesday in their second match of European Championship qualifying Group B, Ivanauskas has moved to put distance between himself and any supposed coaching vacancy with his country.

He watched Scotland thump six goals past the Faroe Islands at the weekend but has opted against making the journey to Kaunas this week, although he admits a willingness to confer with Liubinskas on the strengths and weaknesses of Walter Smith's squad.

When asked about speculation on an assistant's role to the Lithuanian coach, Ivanauskas said: "It's the first time I've heard of it. I was assistant coach with the national team for three years but now I am manager of Hearts and I'm very busy. It's not possible to do both jobs.

"If the Lithuanian Football Federation were to speak with me then I would listen but we are talking about two very big jobs and it would be very difficult for anyone to do.

"I am concentrating only on Hearts. Being a manager in Scotland is very demanding and that's why I will give everything for Hearts. I was going to attend the match on Wednesday but I will stay here to oversee training as we still have players who are not on international duty. There is a reserve game tomorrow and I will go to that."

Ivanauskas isn't even convinced that anyone from the Lithuanian camp will telephone him over the next 48 hours in search of a dossier on Scotland. "I haven't spoken with Algimantas.

He doesn't know much about the Scottish team at all. The information he has comes from the players we have in his squad. Those guys know the Scottish players and their style of play so perhaps Mr Liubinskas will not need information from me."

Deividas Cesnauskis and Saulius Mikoliunas both played in Lithuania's 1-1 draw with Italy in Naples on Saturday evening. The visitors clung on to a Tomas Danilevicius goal despite conceding an equaliser to Filippo Inzaghi.

Takis Fyssas was in the Greek side which secured a 1-0 win over Moldova in Group C. The decisive goal was scored by the man who scored home and away against Hearts in the Champions League qualifying round, Nikos Liberopoulos.

Mirsad Beslija played in Bosnia-Herzegovina's 5-2 win in Malta after coming on as a 53rd-minute substitute.

Meanwhile, Hearts striker Calum Elliot, currently on loan at Motherwell, was sidelined with an ankle injury in Scotland's under-21 defeat by France on Friday evening.

HEARTS reserves face Rangers at Forthbank tomorrow (2.00pm) and Lithuanian signing Andrius Velicka is expected to play.

Taken from the Scotsman