Ivanauskas won't give up on Champions League dream

CHAMPIONS League football remains the ultimate ambition for Valdas Ivanauskas this season. Realising such a target would bestow enormous credit upon the Lithuanian and his players after their last 12 tumultuous months together, but the head coach is confident that a prosperous new year can be enjoyed by all at Hearts.

Despite the turmoil of managerial changes and player unrest Ivanauskas has guided his side into a challenging position for second place in the SPL, a finish which could see the Edinburgh club return to Europe's premier tournament depending on UEFA's complicated co-efficient calculations.

That he has effected this turnaround in such a short period of time - Ivanauskas returned from a month-long sick leave only four weeks ago - proves that those previously dissatisfied souls in the dressing room at Riccarton are more than willing to respond to his demands.

In the coming weeks, Ivanauskas will petition his players privately to push on with the quest to repeat last season's achievement. On the night of May 3 this year, the Lithuanian experienced the finest satisfaction of his managerial career when Paul Hartley's penalty dispatched Aberdeen and confirmed that Hearts would split Celtic and Rangers to finish second, taking their place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.

At the time of qualification, Ivanauskas was merely the club's interim head coach. But the glory was all his, and he expects the learning curve taken by Hearts throughout the last 12 months to stand them in perfect stead for the second half of the season.

"Now our situation is looking good but this is a small step towards the target we want," said Ivanauskas. "Second place is a long way away but last season can help us for the future. Positive results can help the club. We are better as a football club because of our experiences. We have gone through a lot of experiences, positive and negative, and everybody has learned from this. I think the situation is better now.

"Last year was the best year of my coaching experiences. There were some beautiful moments. I remember the Aberdeen game when we won the Champions League place. There was the semi-final win against Hibs and then the cup final. The first Champions League game against Siroki Brijeg was emotional, but there have also been negative moments against AEK Athens and Sparta Prague.

"Over the last 12 months we have had more positive emotion and the players, if they are clever, will realise what big targets they can achieve if they work hard. Having targets is very important, but it has been a year of learning. Not just for me as manager but for the players and the club management.

"If you try another club in Lithuania or Russia it is a different mentality and another style. Here, I must adapt to Scottish life and understand Scottish people. I must understand my players because I have a lot of foreign players."

When asked if he hoped for a normal 2007, Ivanauskas joked: "I think that is not possible. I don't think about the next 12 months, only the next week. I hope the club can be more progressive and that everyone can stay healthy."

His insistence on focusing only on the short-term agenda led Ivanauskas to reveal that his contract with majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov will never be for any longer than a 12-month period.

"I remember the words of a very good manager I had in Germany, and therefore I don't like long-term contracts," he added. "If we have results and the club is happy with me then they can come to me every time and say, 'you can continue'. But no longer than a one-year deal. Any longer might be a good idea, and if you have a five-year contract it is beautiful. You have stability but you don't have challenges and targets. Stability is good but you need results in the club, away from the football side. I am happy to go from year to year.

"I love life here in Scotland, it is beautiful here. Beautiful city, beautiful country. It is a football country."

Referring to his side's recent results, Ivanauskas was pleased to have won three and drawn two of Hearts' last six matches prior to today's visit to Kilmarnock. However, he responded angrily to allegations that Hibs manager John Collins had termed Hearts a "pub team" in the wake of the Boxing Day Edinburgh derby victory.

"If he said these words it is not good for him. I think it's not true firstly, and secondly he was very angry after losing. Now I am very angry. I think it shows a lack of respect. I can't understand him but our position is now much better after beating Hibs.

"If you remember the first league game at Easter Road, it was the same situation for us. Saul [Mikoliunas] got a red card, we had ten men and scored to make it 2-2. We also had chances to score a third. Hibs were in a similar situation at Tynecastle but we got three points and Hibs got zero."

Taken from the Scotsman