Valdas: I can turn it round

VALDAS IVANAUSKAS got straight back to business today and vowed to make securing a Champions League place his priority.

The Hearts head coach was back at Riccarton for his first training session in more than a month after a four-week absence because of illness.

The Tynecastle side have slipped to fifth place in the SPL in that time and Ivanauskas knows he faces a battle to return his side to the heady heights they enjoyed last season.

The club claimed second spot in the league and won the Scottish Cup last time round but turmoil on and off the pitch over the past few months has seen their campaign come to a grinding halt.

However, the Lithuanian is hoping he can turn the situation back in Hearts' favour, starting against St Mirren this weekend and says he is relishing the challenge ahead.

He said: "Our targets are the same as they were last season. We have good players at the club and if we can work hard to find our game again that we were playing earlier in the season then I think that we can have a big chance again. Okay, it will be hard work but it is good to be back and I am looking forward to the challenge."

Ivanauskas and club owner Vladimir Romanov were spectators at Saturday's 0-0 draw again Inverness, a match which saw Steven Pressley reinstated to the side as captain. And the Hearts coach insists Elvis is an integral part of his plans, adding: "I will have discussions with a lot of the players but Steven Pressley is our captain and a very big figure in the future of Hearts.

"I will speak with him to decide how we will work for the next game because he is an important man in our team and he can help turn the situation around.

"It has not been an easy situation for anyone at the club or for Steven Pressley but I am looking forward to working with him again because we need our best players on the pitch.

"I was at the game against Inverness, I can't say that I enjoyed it because we did not win the game and we needed the three points, not just one.

"I saw some good things but also some negative things and we need to work on a few things.

"There needs to be a change in our situation because last year we were second in the league but now we are in fourth.

"Our next game is very important and we will be working hard in training just like normal."

Meanwhile, Romanov says he wants at least 70 per cent of the Hearts team to be made up of Scots.

And he insisted that only Lithuanians good enough to play for Hearts will be brought into the club in the January transfer window.

He flew in to Scotland with Ivanauskas on Friday, after fans staged protests outside Tynecastle following the defeat to Rangers, in a bid to build bridges between himself and the supporters, who have grown increasingly frustrated at the number of Lithuanian players at the club.

However, Romanov's spokesman Charlie Mann said: "His long-term plan is to have primarily Scottish players in the team, with around 70 per cent of the squad made up from homegrown talent.

"There will be more Lithuanian players, they are still part of the thinking, but only those good enough and with enough desire to play for Hearts will be brought into the squad."

Taken from the Scotsman