Video nasty knocked Zaliukas sideways

Zaliukas was shown a straight red card for violent conduct in a match against Falkirk at the beginning of February for punching Carl Finnigan after wrestling the Bairns player to the ground.

Unfortunately for the defender, it was his third sending-off of the season and, as a result of his poor disciplinary record, he was banned for four matches by the SFA, missing vital SPL encounters against Aberdeen, St Mirren, Dundee United and Motherwell.

Lengthy talks with his manager, Csaba Laszlo, and watching the tapes have helped him reach the conclusion that he simply should have accepted the free-kick and carried on with the game and he says he's working harder than ever now to stay focused on the football and not the sideshow that so often goes with it.

"I think that I have learned a lot of lessons and hopefully the last couple of games prove that.

"I think that everyone is playing better than we were before, not just me, we are trying to take as many points as we can.

"The manager spoke to me about it and he spoke to the newspapers, but I realised myself that I cannot do things like that. When I saw that moment on video I was surprised myself by it. Sometimes it felt like I was watching someone else and not me.

"It was a moment of weakness, I did a bad thing. But I think that I have come back stronger than before."

Zaliukas has successfully regained his place in Laszlo's starting line-up since serving his four-match ban, however, it is not certain how long he will remain in the first-team plans. His latest loan spell from Kaunas is due to run out at the end of this season and, having joined the Jambos in August 2006, it looks as though the defender may indeed be set for pastures new.

While steadfastly refusing to rule out the possibility of a new deal in Gorgie, he did, however, reveal there has been no new talks with the Tynecastle club over the possibility of extending his stay.

The player himself certainly believes that Tynecastle is now a happier place to be playing football, particularly because of the introduction of a long-term manager and the stability and continuity that brings to the players.

But he also stressed that if Hearts can secure a place in the Europa League for next season it will encourage new players to move to Edinburgh – and current players to agree longer deals.

He continued: "Now everyone is looking only for third place – and longer holidays! But seriously, everyone is trying to do our best to get there.

"I think that this season there have been many changes and the team has become better, much better. The most important thing is that the gaffer works hard and so do the players. In the past, maybe there were too many manager changes but now we have someone regular and I think that has improved us.

"Right now, I am not thinking about my own situation, at the moment all we are concentrating on is the end of the season and finishing in third place in the table. There has not been any discussion yet. We will see.

"Yes, playing in Europe would probably make a difference but there are still a few games to go and a lot of things can change in that time."

Taken from the Scotsman