SAULIUS MIKOLIUNAS. The name alone seems sufficient to prompt fretfulness and feelings of exasperation throughout the Hearts support. One day exhilarating, the next perplexing. But never predictable.

The Lithuanian winger has been seemingly hauled from the dead since his compatriot Valdas Ivanauskas replaced Graham Rix in the head coach's office at Riccarton.

During the Englishman's tenure Mikoliunas was starting matches sporadically and eventually not at all, his last being the 4-1 defeat of Hibs back in January. Yet, he's run out with the team for four of six kick-offs to date under Ivanauskas.

Whether that is truly down to Ivanauskas' intentions or those of majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov, pictured below, may be open to conjecture, and certainly Miko's mercurial tendencies still have him down as something of an enigma with the fans. Some scintillating performances, most notably during his early days in Edinburgh, have been punctuated by a couple of disciplinary aberrations, both coincidentally against Rangers.

That has been followed by this season's inconsistency that appeared to justify his omissions from the side under first George Burley and then Rix. It seems for every positive effort there is a negative counter action.

Romanov, though, has always retained faith in one of Lithuania's most prosperous young talents, as was emphasised in January when Mikoliunas' loan deal from FBK Kaunas was extended until the season's end.

He is back in the team and grateful for the opportunity.

He isn't interested in the slightest who granted it, but the pressing necessity to make full use of it has been noted as the most telling period of his burgeoning career arrives. "I am only happy to be in the team and I want to work hard for the team and stay there," said Mikoliunas.

"It's politics. Some people write and say some very bad things that are not true about Hearts and Mr Romanov. We are in second place now and I think everybody is asking who are Hearts and why are they second. It's just people making trouble.

"In Scotland it has been the same way for years. Celtic and Rangers were the top two clubs, now Hearts are upsetting things but we will continue to do that. Saturday was a bad day for us but we must forget it and look forward to Celtic on Sunday now. These games coming up will be the biggest I have played in.

"The cup final will be massive, and league matches against Celtic and Rangers are the biggest for me, much more intense than anything I experienced back home. The atmosphere is different and there is much more pressure. We can make the Champions League and win a cup in the next month."

Mikoliunas is aware of the outside chance that he could be playing his final matches for Hearts right now, for no-one can even guess what Romanov is planning for this weekend let alone the summer. But despite his loan deal again being up for renewal after Hearts meet Gretna at Hampden, it is highly unlikely that the winger will be passing through the departure lounge at Edinburgh Airport any time soon. Except perhaps to visit relations back in Kaunas.

Unfinished business in Scotland could involve a return to the Champions League arena he graced during his formative years. Mikoliunas was a goalscorer during the qualifying rounds of the 2004-05 tournament as Kaunas eliminated Sliema Wanderers of Malta before falling to Swedish club Djurgarden.

"We won the first leg 2-0 against Sliema and I scored in the second leg, which we won 4-1. That was the first qualifying round. I remember the second qualifying round as we were away in Sweden first and drew 0-0, but I was ill for the second leg and we lost 2-0.

"I remember feeling very excited at playing in the Champions League. It was a great experience for me and I want to play at that level again. There was big pressure on us but I felt we were unlucky against Djurgarden. We were confident after drawing and keeping a clean sheet away from home.

"In Kaunas we missed so many chances in the first half, then we lost a bad goal through an error from our goalkeeper and we lost our way after that.

"These games were before the group stages, but I want to be here with Hearts and play in them again next season."

Should the unthinkable actually happen and he is shipped back home, he would have to make do with the UEFA Cup next year after Kaunas, who are also heavily financed by Romanov, could only finish second to Ekranas in the Lithuanian A Lyga.

Mikoliunas is certainly doing everything to convince in the meantime. Extra training sessions have been undertaken in order to expand his physical attributes for a league that relies to heavily on them.

In fact, he arrives for this interview with his often-rosy cheeks a definite shade of crimson. Ivanauskas has been working him hard, he admits. "I need extra training. I have been working on my fitness, with a little gym work, to improve myself physically. I want to do that because Valdas has spoken to me about it and it comes from watching the whole team work hard in matches.

"I think my form isn't too bad, I am still waiting to get all of my confidence back. But of course I can play much better.

"I have adapted a lot and I realise now that in Scotland some teams are content to play a passing game, but others are just bang, bang, bang." There is also a definite willingness in Miko to fully apply himself for his head coach.

He admits to a penchant for a game of tennis with countrymen Cesnasukis and Jankauskas in their spare time, but recently there hasn't been the opportunity to get many rallies going with all three spending extra hours in the gym and astrodome at Riccarton.

No-one should accuse Mikoliunas of slacking in any way under Burley or Rix, but with Ivanauskas, a footballing legend from his homeland, ordering specialised training methods to be devised for you it is difficult not to respond in kind. "Valdas was my hero as a kid. He was my favourite player from Lithuania because he was the first from our country to play in the Bundesliga.

"He is a big name in Lithuania and everybody knows him. I used to watch him on television playing for the national team.

"He speaks my language and he knows what I can do. He was my manager at Kaunas and he coaches Davide and I with the national team. He knows me better than anyone and he can get the best out of me."

Taken from the Scotsman