Hearts have plenty in reserve

HEARTS' countdown to what they hope is a return to winning ways on Saturday starts in earnest today when they field a strong reserve side against Falkirk's second string. Mirsad Beslija, Andrew Driver, Jose Goncalves, Edgaras Jankauskas, Juho Makela, Michal Pospisil, Neil McCann and possibly Deividas Cesnauskis are expected to take part in the match at Forthbank Stadium, Stirling, where the kick-off is 2pm.

Valdas Ivanauskas, who resumed his reign as head coach this week after more than a month on sick leave, is determined to bring to an end a winless run which stretches to eight matches. He has cancelled the double training sessions which were introduced by the interim coach Eduard Malofeev, and has stressed the need for greater consistency of selection.

Having said that, none of the above-named players took part in the 0-0 draw in Inverness last Saturday, but a good performance today should thrust them into consideration for the weekend match at Love Street, according to the newly promoted Stephen Frail. "We are looking for these guys to perform and give something extra for Saturday," the assistant coach told the club's website, heartsfc.co.uk.

"[This] is a strong squad and they need to approach the game with the correct attitude. You need to have games.

"Last week Saulius [Mikoliunas] played in the reserves to get his confidence and Eduard thought he did particularly well. You saw the result on Saturday when I thought he did well."

Meanwhile, Ukio Bankas, Hearts' shirt sponsors, have announced a trebling of their unaudited pre-tax profit. Ukio earned just under £5.7 milllion in the first nine months of this year, roughly three times greater than the corresponding period last year. Ukio, which plans to open a branch in Edinburgh soon, has also just agreed a £26m loan from a syndicate of western banks to help it continue its growth.

Taken from the Scotsman