Hearts ready for action as Laszlo's infectious enthusiasm rubs off on players

ALAN PATTULLO
THEY might only have been three short words in the torrent which spilled forth from a clearly excited Csaba Laszlo yesterday, but they were the ones the Hearts fans most wanted to hear and, just a few shorts weeks ago, perhaps held little hope they would.
"We are ready," announced the new Hearts manager at Riccarton yesterday, as the Tynecastle side prepare to host Motherwell after a pre-season mired in frustration. Mark McGhee, the man who will sit in the opposite dug-out to Laszlo today, began it al

l back in May when he turned down the offer of the vacant manager's job at Tynecastle. Weeks of silence ensued, interrupted only by reports of other apparent approaches made to less-than-eager candidates.

Eventually, Laszlo was lured out of Africa, where he was coach of Uganda. His colourful background is matched by an infectious persona and a very real sense of optimism can be felt at the club, a sharp contrast to the way Hearts finished last season.

There has been no shortage of players lining up to hail their new manager in recent days, and Lithuanian midfielder Saulius Mikoliunas became the latest one yesterday. Mikoliunas is still officially on-loan from Kaunas, surprise victors over Rangers in the second qualifying round of the Champions League in midweek, and had spoken with some of his joyful erstwhile team-mates in the days following Tuesday night's game. But his mind was on Hearts yesterday, and he declared that everyone was happy with the new manager and the style of football he has demanded.

"Everyone is looking ahead, everyone is positive," Mikoliunas said. "Our target is to be back in Europe. I've always said we have a strong squad and now we have a very good manager.

"He has only worked here for a short period and now the team is more solid and in better tactical shape," he added. "We do more tactical things in training. He is very precise and his ideas on football are very clear. Everyone knows what their job is on the pitch."

The proof will come in the weeks ahead, but Laszlo has already made a good impression. In marked contrast to some of his predecessors, he proved disarmingly open yesterday. When once it was hard to obtain information about even the most innocuous of subjects at Hearts, Laszlo felt able to discuss his sleeping habits in a room full of reporters. "I go to bed at 10pm and get up at 5am," he confided. "But recently I have been getting up two or three times (in the night] before I get up." He did, however, add that he was relaxed about the opening day of the season, with his sleepless nights down to excitement rather than nerves. But he would rather he had more options to choose from, particularly in attack. Gary Glenn is suspended, and David Obua, Laszlo's first signing, is nursing a rib injury. Laszlo expects him to be included in the squad for the match with Rangers at Ibrox next weekend.

Mike Tullberg, who is seeking to win a contract with Hearts following a spell with Italian club Reggina, might well offer Hearts something else in attack, but Laszlo is waiting for the player to be given the all-clear by club doctors after he sustained a knock on the club's pre-season tour in Germany.

Taken from the Scotsman