WE DIDN'T STAB ELVIS IN THE BACK

HITMAN Edgaras Jankauskas last night angrily denied there was a Lithuanian plot to oust Steven Pressley as Hearts skipper.

The former Porto striker claims he supported Pressley's high-profile stand against Vladimir Romanov which has almost certainly ended the Scotland defender's career at Tynecastle.

The uneasy truce that seemed to have been reached in recent weeks was shattered on Friday when Pressley was suspended and told to stay away for Saturday's game against St Mirren.

But Champions League winner Jankauskas insists he and the other Lithuanians in the Hearts squad have not stabbed Pressley in the back and that the Scot has his support.

In comments bound to raise eyebrows, he is also adamant the dressing room is united and that it is time for the critics to lay off his countrymen.

Jankauskas said: "I can assure you none of the Lithuanians are involved in any of these so-called plots. They are quite young players and don't even understand what is going on.

"Of course, it upsets me as it's not right when you are blamed for something because you are born in Lithuania or any other country.

"It affects the Lithuanians more as we are the ones who take most stick in public when people whistle at us but I assure you we are not involved in any plot against Scottish players.

"We are united. It doesn't matter if you are black or white or born in Lithuania, France or Senegal. We all want to do the same job."

Pressley's initial statement about dressing-room unrest under club owner Romanov was not made on behalf of the entire first team-squad.

That highlighted a split among the players amid accusations of favouritism and alleged lack of professionalism among some of the Lithuanians.

Jankauskas says he doesn't know why Pressley's statement was not made on behalf of the entire squad but, asked if he supported it, said: "I think so because what he said was we need stability - no matter if you are Scottish or Lithuanian.

"I have a good relationship with Steven. Every day we are together on the training ground and in the dressing room and you can have different opinions about one thing or another. However, I think I can consider him to be my friend.

"I don't know which players will now want to stay or go but it's logical we all want stability for the club. We all want and deserve a clearer picture of what is going on.

"We are all expecting Steven to be back but nothing is clear. It was a surprise for us all that he has been absent these past few days but we have not spoken about anything other than the game so there has been no explanation.

"Of course, such news affects the team but we must be professional and think only about our next matches.

"All season long we've had these turmoils so the boys are used to them and were only thinking about the St Mirren game, nothing else. At the moment we're angry about not winning the match rather than thinking about other things."

Senior squad member Jankauskas, on loan from Lithuanian club Kaunas, is being paid a reported £10,000 a week but claims he is not in a position to ask Romanov to end the in-fighting at Tynecastle.

He said: "I don't think any player at any club can call the president and tell him to get issues resolved. We don't have the right."

The 2-2 draw with St Mirren left the Jambos toiling in sixth place in the SPL. Jankauskas said: "The squad is good enough to achieve something but it may be difficult this season as all these things affect how strong a team can be and its psychological side.

"At the moment we all want to push forward and see if we're strong enough to get through this situation."

Taken from the Daily Record