Calmer Ivanauskas reflects on when emotions ran too deep

IN A year of spectacular highs and abysmal lows, nothing caused Valdas Ivanauskas more personal upset than the illness which caused him to spend more than four weeks away from Tynecastle in October and November. Initially given a fortnight off by Vladimir Romanov, the head coach stayed away for longer as he went home to Lithuania to cope with the effects of stress.

Speaking for the first time about his month off, Ivanauskas revealed that his doctor had advised him to do the impossible - to stop being so passionate about his football.
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"I was told to calm down," said Ivanauskas, "but that is not so easy when you have been 27 years in football and coaching - it is difficult when you are working hard and there's a lot of emotion. But I am trying to change because every year you get older and older."

In the dugout, at times he has seemed like a coiled spring and occasionally his emotions have spilled out - dangerously so, if his health has been affected. In all the fuss and bother which has surrounded Hearts in recent times, it has sometimes been forgotten that there has been a human price to pay, as the head coach's illness proved.

Ivanauskas agreed that the time for recuperation had recharged his batteries: "I had a month off which gave me a lot of time to think about things, to think about last season and this season. It was very hard for me, because I am a very, very emotional man. But if you are 40 years old and you have problems with your health then you need to change things, but I cannot change for just a few hours. If you are on the pitch or involved in the game it is very difficult. It has not been a lifestyle change for me, but it's been about emotions, about how deep I go into the football, whether the problems are positive or negative - that is what is not good for my health."

Ivanauskas emphasised that he had not been forced to seek psychiatric help, but had relied on the medical advice of his doctor in Lithuania. Perhaps surprisingly for someone who looks trim and fit, he was advised to increase his quota of exercise. "I need to do more sports, such as running, swimming or gym work," said the head coach. "I need physical pressure and just now I am finding that I have more time for that, so it's OK."

The former Soviet Union and Lithuanian international striker has been playing football or coaching more or less non-stop since the age of 13 so a "mid-life crisis" of this kind may have been inevitable. It has not dimmed his enthusiasm for football, however, despite all the bizarre events at Tynecastle in recent months. The Boxing Day triumph over capital rivals Hibs was certainly a tonic the men in maroon needed.

Next Saturday at Stranraer, Hearts begin the defence of the Scottish Cup they won last season in a memorable final against Gretna after a thumping victory over Hibs at Hampden. With the employees' revolving door having birled nearly off its hinges at Hearts, Ivanauskas feels the need to show some of the new players what last year's cup run meant for the club, which is why he will show the squad a video replay before the trip to Sranraer.

"The squad has changed so much that before the match I will play a video of the semi-final against Hibs to show the players how important the cup is here in Scotland," said Ivanauskas. "It's important that the players understand and remember how interesting it was for us last season in the cup, especially the semi-final and the final.

"Afterwards, I saw how many people were waiting for us in the city and I knew they would remember the emotions for the rest of their life.

"Every cup game is difficult, however. I know nothing about Stranraer, except that it's a long way to travel, and they have a big pitch. They may be a smaller club but it will be a difficult game for us."

It has to be said that Ivanauskas was relaxed and joking as he faced the press, and he does come across as a likeable laid-back individual until football gets in the way and passions take over. People forget that when Bill Shankly talked about football being more important than life and death, he was really only exaggerating for effect. For his health's sake, Valdas Ivanauskas should remember that.

Taken from the Scotsman