Csaba doesn't rant and rave

He watches the Jambos boss bemuse the media with lengthy monologues as he tries to answer questions in his third language.

Then Laszlo walks into the dressing room and Stewart doesn’t recognise him at all.

Because the Hearts boss the midfielder works with every day is laid-back, articulate, and nothing like his public profile.

And Stewart admits he has learned as much about LIFE as he has about football during Laszlo’s six months at Tynecastle.

The 44-year-old’s arrival at the club in July has sparked a Scotland call-up and some of the best football of his career to date.

In recent months, however, suspension and illness have caused him to go off the boil with Laszlo even leaving him on the bench at times.

But after a series of heraet-to-hearts between the pair Laszlo hailed the old Michael Stewart in the 2-0 win over Kilmarnock.

And the player admits he is relishing the chance to pick up as much as he can from Laszlo the man as Laszlo the manager.

He said: “The media has a different perception of the manager to us because when reporters are speaking to him they already have an idea of what they want to know.

“They want to ask as many questions as they can in the time allotted to them.

“And in cases where he is being asked about something for the first time he is always liable to go on at length with his answers.

“But when he is speaking to us as players he’s already decided which way the conversation is going to go.

“He has prepared beforehand and he always gets his point across.

“His knowledge of the game is second to none so he has a lot of information to pass on and knows exactly how he wants to do that.

“So we don’t really see the man the media deals with who goes on at length or who rants about certain things. He is meticulous with us.

“He is a man you can sit down with and immediately his position on something is clear to see.

“In the rehabilitation of this club over the past few months it is clear he has been a major factor.

“Csaba’s a guy you can sit down and have a blether with about anything, not just football.

“He is worldly-wise. He has lived in Africa and gone through a number of experiences in his career and life. He speaks different languages.

“He is not stupid, he is a very intelligent guy. And he is very knowledgeable about life.

“He reminds me of Tony Mowbray in that respect. He is someone you can approach about anything that is on your mind.

“Csaba doesn’t fine people or punish them, he wants them to be more conscientious and to think a lot more about what they are doing. The fans see a very passionate man in the dugout — and don’t get me wrong, he is a very passionate man when it comes to this club.

“But we also see a more laid-back side to the manager as well, he is someone you can have a laugh and a joke with. He is someone you really want to do well for.”

Laszlo suggested after the win at Killie that Stewart had lost his way in the previous couple of months.

He said: “We had a lot of conversations and I told him I came here and I saw a Michael Stewart who was a leader, who came to be a national team player, but who lost everything and was not satisfied.”

The player insists his suspension for his sending-off against St Mirren contributed to that dip.

But Laszlo’s willingness to discuss the situation and show his faith in him helped him bounce back.

He said: “Sometimes with myself the perception can change very quickly.

“I was suspended and ended up missing a few games because of it.

“I also missed a game through illness and that was spread out over a number of weeks.

“So I missed more than a month of football and it is not easy to come straight back in at that level.

“Suddenly people’s opinion of you alters but you have to stay strong through that.

“The manager is the same as everyone else — his opinion also changes on a weekly basis depending on what he sees.

“I understand what he was saying and I agree with it to a certain extent. But sometimes things get blown out of proportion a little.

“Sometimes when things are going well they get exaggerated and there are other times when the troughs aren’t actually as bad as they are made out to be.

“The thing is, it doesn’t matter who you are.

“There are times when you need people to have belief in you.

“If you are not feeling great it is good to have someone you can turn to for advice and he certainly comes into that category.

“He is someone who will talk to you and help you maintain a level head. He is definitely someone you can work with and it is nice to have that here at the club.”

Stewart now wants to help drive Hearts towards a Europa League spot with a win over managerless Caley Thistle.

He believes the Jambos are in an ideal position to challenge for league and cup success — in stark contrast to this time a year ago.

He said: “My aims are the same as those of the team. To try and get to third place and to go as far as we can in the Scottish Cup and hopefully win it.

“That would be a fantastic achievement given everything we went through last year. That was a considerable dent to our confidence.

“Last year at this stage we were out of the Cup and in the bottom six, so we couldn’t do either.

“Now we are towards the end of January . . . and we still can.”