Leaving in the summer will be Phil Stamp and Kevin McKenna, an all-hustle midfielder and a centre-half turned targetman, two highly-paid cornerstones of Craig Levein’s successful era at Tynecastle. Levein’s successor, John Robertson, claims that those sizeable salaries will help bring in three or four players in the summer. If their quality is of the standard set by Saulius Mikoliunas and Deividas Cesnauskis, then this team will be closer to Vladimir Romanov’s ideal of title challengers than they will be to the chasing pack. Already, with the arrival of these two blossoming talents, Robertson has been able to deliver on his promise of transforming Levein’s direct, athletic team into a unit which incorporates individual flair and is at its best attacking at pace.
“We have to be careful, everything is new and exciting just now,” began Steven Pressley, the Hearts captain, qualifying his own enthusiastic response to the performance of the Lithuanian wingers during the midweek Scottish Cup replay at Kilmarnock, a 3-1 victory. “But if they keep doing the things they have been, these could be exciting times.”
Pressley is right on both counts. Caution is wise, as Cesnauskis arrived last week and Mikoliunas has only played a handful of games since coming to Scotland. However, both are internationals in their early 20s and have made an immediate impact on the Hearts team. Mikoliunas is an out-and-out winger who can go both ways on either flank. So far he has been on the right more often than not, either cutting inside and shooting with his left or hitting the line and putting in perfect crosses with his right. As crowd pleasing as his dribbling skills are, it is his final ball that will make the most difference for his new team, be it the heads-up cut back that put his compatriot in for the third goal at Rugby Park or the arcing cross, delivered on the run, that Lee Miller somehow headed wide against the same opponents in last Saturday’s league encounter.
Cesnauskis plays wide right for Lithuania, keeping Mikoliunas on the bench, but the two were switching flanks against Kilmarnock. Cesnauskis, at 23 three years older than Mikoliunas, was less attracted to the touchline. He finished his goal from a central position and frequently came inside to seek possession, his confidence increasing as the game continued. His first touch was immaculate and he has a change of pace and direction that got him away from his marker time after time. He found himself on the right corner of his own penalty box late on, Kilmarnock pressing each pass as they tried to force an error. To get out of trouble the Lithuanian spun through a drag back in a position where drag backs are not spun through, accelerated upfield and began a series of keep-ball passes that were ‘oléd’ by the enraptured Hearts support.
“They are both technically very good players and the thing they add to the team is genuine pace,” continued Pressley. “It’s great to see two natural wingers in the team but I think we have to guard against heaping too much pressure on their shoulders too early. However, it could turn out to be a massive coup for us, if they continue to perform.”
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The captain also talked up the progress of Marius Kizys, the 22-year-old central midfielder who, like Mikoliunas impressed Robertson during three matches at Hearts’ Riccarton training complex that constituted a training camp or a trial, depending on who you spoke to. Andrius Gedgaudas, Lithuania’s player of the year, and Gediminas Vicius also caught the eye but opted to remain with Kaunas, a situation that could change in the summer.
Robertson has also replaced Mark de Vries with Lee Miller, a centre forward more mobile than the Dutchman, who followed Levein to Leicester City, and, at 21, one with the potential to improve. The former Falkirk striker, on loan from Bristol City, had scored five goals in seven starts before yesterday’s matches. The two clubs are currently negotiating a fee for his permanent transfer. Dennis Wyness has been revitalised by his former manager at Inverness Caledonian Thistle and by the style of football played around him. Stephen Simmons has returned from the wilderness to reclaim the centre of midfield.
“I’m delighted for him,” said Pressley, who marched 20 yards to shake his appreciation into the 22-year-old as Simmons was substituted late on at Rugby Park. “He made a huge impact when he first came in. A lot was expected of him and I think it affected him. In recent weeks he has been excellent, he’s grown from game to game.”
It is the Lithuanians, though, that could provide the cutting edge that transforms the race for third place into a compelling all-Edinburgh affair and Pressley reprises the big brother role for his newest teammates. “It’s important that, as captain, I make them feel welcome,” he said. “They’re young, it can’t be easy, I know that from my own experiences (Pressley left Rangers for Coventry City as a 21-year-old) but it’s another step on for them with the language barrier. Saul has his girlfriend over and that should make it easier. Marius has his girlfriend coming over shortly. I shared a room with him and he is enjoying it, I think they all are. The boys have made them extremely welcome. There is a great dressing room here and they have been made a part of that.”
Further caution: both Mikoliunas and Cesnauskis have been signed on loan from Kaunas, the Lithuanian club sponsored by Romanov. Those loans expire in the summer, by which time Kaunas, currently three points ahead of Ekranas in the Lithuanian league, could be preparing for a Champions League qualifier.
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Robertson is positive that this will not lead to a return trip for the midfielders. “There is no doubt whatsoever that they will sign long-term contracts,” he said. Pressley, too, is convinced the club have a “great chance” of signing the Lithuanians and a source close to both clubs is confident that both Mikoliunas and Cesnauskis will “eventually be members of Hearts’ regular squad”.
That “eventually” could still mean after Kaunas’s Champions League bid, but if it comes to a scrap for the players, Robertson has momentum in his favour. His side are playing their best football at the business end of the season. Before yesterday they were three points off Hibs, the third-placed team in Scotland, and after defeat in extra-time of the CIS Cup semi-final they are in the quarter- finals of the Scottish Cup. After turbulent beginnings, Robertson has won over Team Romanov, who seem happy to grant him the funds required to secure Miller, for example.
Reports that Anatoly Byshovets has been marginalised are apparently off the mark. The former Soviet Union coach’s role has always been as an advisor to Romanov’s footballing operations, a definition that Team Romanov insist has been unmoved throughout the negotiations to assume control of Hearts.
Romanov bought success for Kaunas. Mikoliunas was pried from Ekranas and the current Kaunas squad has been assembled by hurting their rivals. In that regard they are a bit like Livingston used to be, or Gretna are now, except that Kaunas get into the early rounds of qualification for the Champions League. In Lithuania, however, basketball is far more popular than football and, after six consecutive titles, it is unlikely that Kaunas will get any bigger. Romanov sees far greater potential in Hearts and is prepared to place his biggest assets at Tynecastle. Robertson is convinced that means two of the brightest prospects in the Premierleague will be part of his new-look team next season.
“The only reason they were signed on short-term deals was to see if they could handle the pace and the way that Scottish football is played,” said Robertson, a rider that already seems ridiculous. A better question would be: can Scottish football handle them?