'There's no split in Hearts dressing-room'

A HIGH-SCORING draw at Falkirk tonight would take Hearts back into second place in the SPL, but they will not go out in search of the single point. After a run of four games in which they have only picked up two points, they need a win. It may be too late to revive their title challenge, but it is about time they revived their own self-confidence.

They looked like they had done that for much of their last league match, when two late goals saw them go down to Celtic, but then they turned in a dismal performance in midweek when they lost to Hibs in the CIS Cup. Understandably, Edgaras Jankauskas, who is a doubt for this evening's match because of injury, chose to dwell on the former match when asked to explain Hearts' state of mind.

"The performance against Celtic was very positive and showed our team is not as bad as some people think," the striker said. "We didn't deserve to lose that game. Celtic will be difficult to catch, but there are still a few games to play, so nothing is lost.

"[At Falkirk] we'll do the same before every game - we'll think positive and go for three points. It doesn't matter who we're playing or if we're home or away - we always go for the win and try to give 100 per cent. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

Jankauskas was an important player for Hearts when they were at their best early on last season, but since being injured he has yet to regain the form he showed then. The same could be said of the side as a whole, and the Lithuanian thinks that is partly down to the attitude of opposing teams.

"Last year nobody expected us to achieve the things we achieved. Maybe that weight of pressure has had an influence on our performances this year, because everyone expects us to win every game. That's one of the differences compared to last year.

"We get more respect from our opponents [now]. Other teams put us on the same level as Rangers and Celtic, therefore we always get opponents who are playing 110 per cent against us.

"We have to be strong mentally, but it's human when you don't win four or five games to lose a bit of confidence, and that effects your performance. Maybe that's what's going on right now with the team. But I think a few good results and we'll be back on track.

"The boys in the dressing-room are united. There are no splits in the team, no groups.

The players on the pitch, on the bench or even in the stands are all positive and all fully committed to the club. So I don't think it can be said we're lacking in attitude."

Only it can, and it increasingly is by people who have watched Hearts. Players have appeared puzzled by being asked to play in unfamiliar positions, while spectators have been baffled, match after match, by team selections.

Away from games, too, there is little appearance of unity. At the Hall of Fame dinner last Thursday, for example, the club's Lithuanian players and the interpreter Alex Kozlovski sat together at one table, apart from the rest of their team-mates. While guests celebrated the achievement of players past and present, there was no impression the current squad is one big happy Hearts family.

Given his previous experience of playing in western Europe, and his fluency in English, Jankauskas may well feel more integrated than his compatriots. But, when it comes to unity and positivity and togetherness, Hearts need to do more now than merely talk a good game.

Falkirk, fresh from their CIS Insurance Cup win over Celtic last midweek and with on-loan striker Anthony Stokes firing on all cylinders, certainly won't go into tonight's match lacking confidence. "Hearts are a great team despite their recent problems, but we are not thinking about them," said defender Marc Twaddle. "We will be going into the game with confidence. Our main focus is staying in the league. If we can do that early into the campaign, then, hopefully, we can progress from there."

Taken from the Scotsman