Hearts' Zaliukas won't forgive ref Brines

Television replays seemed to resolve the issue, clearly showing that it had, in fact, been the Dons striker who had pushed his head into the face of the Lithuanian and not the other way around.

However, an appeal against the decision from the Tynecastle side was surprisingly rejected at the first stage when whistler Brines reviewed the footage and came to the conclusion that he had made the right decision. As a result, the defender, who has been sent off twice in this campaign, was forced to sit out the league derby against Hibs at Tynecastle and then hit with a further two-match ban for breaking through the disciplinary points barrier, ruling him out of last weekend's win over Kilmarnock and this Saturday's game against managerless Inverness Caley Thistle.

The system came under fire again yesterday when Rangers had their appeal against Sasa Papac's red card in the weekend match against Falkirk referred to the review panel but the Bairns' own appeal against Patrick Cregg's sending off was dismissed after referee Willie Collum admitted he'd got one decision wrong and the latter correct. The SFA plans to reconsider the current system after coming under pressure to change the process where the match referee is effectively judge and jury because the appeal cannot go to the panel unless the official comes out and admits that he may have made a mistake.

And Zaliukas, who has made 21 appearances for the Jambos in both cup and league this season, would welcome a change to the rules.

He said: "I missed one game, I played two games and then I had to miss another game.

"Of course, it has been a frustrating time for me because I want to play as much football as possible. I want to be involved in every game.

"What makes it worse is that it was a bad decision which got me the suspension.

"But that is football, sometimes decisions go against you even though they are wrong and you just have to get on with it.

"You can see that I did nothing wrong – and I know that a lot of people agree with me.

"It was one bad decision but I have to put it behind me now and concentrate on my football and on playing well when I get the chance."

The Hearts defence has only conceded two goals in their last six games and the backline's performances have seen them into equal fourth place in the SPL table and into the fifth round of the Scottish Cup following the victory over Hibs at Easter Road a fortnight ago.

While there have been some good results for the player to savour during his time on the sidelines though, Zaliukas admits that he has found it hard to watch from the stand.

The 25-year-old defender is the joker in the pack when it comes to dressing-room pranks and is always looking for laughs, but he conceded that his emotions and frustration got the better of him as he had to watch Hearts play out their 0-0 league draw with Hibs.

"It is very bad for me when you have to sit in the stand and watch the games," he added, "and it makes you mad as well because you are up high and you can see everything.

"You see all of the mistakes and where there should have been a pass or a wrong pass.

"The emotions are much different when you are watching a game to when you are actually playing in it and I am just looking forward to being able to get involved on the pitch again."

Despite the enforced changes to their defence in recent weeks as a result of injury and suspension, Hearts have more or less shut up shop at the back. Zaliukas has been joined in his suspension by Lee Wallace, while Jason Thomson has been injured and Eggert Jonsson has been utilised all over the park, including an unfamiliar left-back role, but they have still managed to be miserly with the goals they have conceded.

While he will miss out again this weekend, Zaliukas is keen not to allow himself to lose the momentum he has built up in recent months and is eager to continue in the same rich vein of form that he was enjoying prior to his ban.

He continued: "I think that we have been playing well and I have been pleased with my performances but, when you play one week and then not the next, it can be bad for you. You can lose your form, it is good to be playing regularly because your confidence is good and you get better and better if you play consistently.

"I am trying not to allow my form and my fitness drop because I am in and out of the team so I have been working hard in training to make sure that I am ready for the next game if the manager picks me."

Meanwhile, Zaliukas' team-mate Bruno Aguiar admitted that he was delighted to return to the side and to scoring form in the win over Kilmarnock last Saturday.

The Portuguese had been out of action with injury but was reinstated to the staring line-up at Rugby Park and justified his selection by netting the second of the Tynecastle side's goals in a vital victory.

Aguiar is likely to be on from the start against Caley and would sacrifice another strike of his own this week as long as the Jambos bag another victory.

He said: "The most important thing was to get the three points on Saturday. It was good to score again and that is four now for the season, but I don't set myself a target of 20 or anything like that.

"While it is always good to score, the main thing is the team winning. If we can do that without scoring then that is okay too.Winning is all that matters. It was a good victory for us and now we must look for another one against Inverness this weekend."

Taken from the Scotsman