STAR-STRUCK VALDAS PULLS OUT ALL TOPPS

VALDAS IVANAUSKAS knew he was on a winner when Klaus Toppmoller sang the praises of his latest signing target.

The Hearts coach was in Moscow yesterday confident he had persuaded Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov of the merits of dealing in Georgian midfielder Gogita Gogua and Ghanaian full-back Laryea Kingston.

Ivanauskas jetted to Russia right after his side's 1-0 SPL win over Falkirk last Saturday to give his views on the players direct to the club owner.

The pair also took in action in the Commonwealth Cup, an indoor tournament involving sides from the former Soviet states, with a view to strengthening further in the months ahead.

Lokomotiv Moscow star Kingston has been training with Hearts since last week and Gogua, who played last season with Spartak Nalchik, also flew to Edinburgh for a 48-hour meet and greet with his potential new employers.

Hearts hope to conclude the signings before the end of the week - and they could even be in the squad to face Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday.

Former Hamburg striker Ivanauskas revealed he sought the opinion of Georgia boss Toppmoller - who led Bayer Leverkusen to the Champions League Final in Glasgow four years ago - before making his move for Gogua.

The Hearts coach knows the German well from his time in the Bundesliga. He said: "Toppmoller had a lot of good things to say about Gogua and that he is vital to his plans for the Georgia team.

"We are close to signing both players and their fitness is such it's possible they could play at Rangers on Saturday but I don't want to say more until the contracts are signed."

Romanov jets to Scotland later this week for the first time in over two months to take in the game against Rangers. The Lithuanian has not seen his team since the 0-0 draw at Inverness on November 25 but sources deny he has been avoiding the heat from fans over his controversial reign.

Romanov is spending more time than usual dealing with business interests in Bosnia.

His son Roman is also set to make a rare appearance in the directors' box at Ibrox where Hearts may be boosted by the return of Scotland keeper Craig Gordon as they bid to put pressure on Rangers for a Champions League spot.

The shot-stopper, who came through a training session yesterday unscathed, missed the Falkirk game with agroin injury

He insisted he could have played against the Bairns but was uncomfortable with his kicking and Ivanauskas decided not to take the risk.

Taken from the Daily Record