Hearts slur is totally unfounded

Published on Thursday 30 April 2009 09:41

DEIVIDAS CESNAUSKIS refused a contract offer of reduced terms from Vladimir Romanov which hastened his departure from Hearts. However, the winger stressed today that he was not influenced by agents during the negotiations, because he does not employ any.

Like his compatriot Saulius Mikoliunas, Cesnauskis claims he is due four months' wages from the Lithuanian club FBK Kaunas having not received his salary since December.

He said he only ever received bonus money from Hearts as salary was paid through Kaunas during his four-year loan period in Scotland. Both clubs are financed by Romanov's Ukio Bankas Investment Group.

Cesnauskis and Mikoliunas saw their contracts terminated by Kaunas and loan agreements cancelled by Hearts on Tuesday, supplemented by a stinging statement on the Edinburgh club's official website which criticised them for being influenced by agents during contract talks.

Although Mikoliunas has used an English-based representative, Cesnauskis insisted he operates alone. He is currently at home in Lithuania awaiting contact from Sergejus Fedotovas, a director of both UBIG and Hearts, and maintains he will take legal action if necessary to reclaim outstanding monies.

"At the moment I don't have an agent. After we discussed the contract I tried to find a new club," he said.

"Kaunas have not paid my salary since December, which is a lot of money for me. All my salary was paid from Kaunas, at Hearts I only got bonuses. I'm waiting on Sergejus, he is due to call me to discuss how they will pay the money. I must speak with him about the situation. I will wait for them to pay me. If not, I will go to a lawyer. They must pay the money."

Cesnauskis has lived off personal savings since December in addition to help from family members. His brother Edgaras is a highly-regarded footballer with the Russian Premier League club FC Moscow.

"I have my family, I have my brother and my mother and I had good money before in my career. This was enough to live on but the situation is a little worse now because the money is gone," he continued.

"It is not a good situation. I wanted to stay at Hearts but I was offered a contract for much less money. It was not possible to stay for this money because it was a big difference. I'm not unhappy, I won't say bad words about Romanov or the club. I have not played much this season because Csaba (Laszlo] doesn't trust me. Maybe this is the reason I was not paid from December."

Any financial shortcomings have little to do with Laszlo or indeed Hearts, who have paid the player all he is owed. But Cesnauskis is irked by the manner of his exit from Tynecastle.

A lengthy statement published on the official Hearts website questioned his character and motivation following just three starts under Laszlo.

It also said he made himself available for international duty with Lithuania earlier this season when club medics believed him to be injured.

"I was very unhappy because these were not good words about me. I don't know why they talk bad about me and Miko," said Cesnauskis.

"The situation is like this: Money is not paid, we tried to do something and then they write bad words about us.

"The Hearts doctors were okay and I have nothing to say about them, but I was ready to play. Of course I had injuries but I was ready.

"Csaba gave me some opportunities to play against Hibs, Rangers and Celtic but often I was sitting waiting.

"When I join up with the national team the coach, Jose Couceiro, likes me and I always start the matches. If you see my history, I always play from the start for Lithuania since I was about 21.

"I don't know what the problem with the doctors was.

"This season, the coach of the Lithuanian national team trusts me so I play all the time. At Hearts I did not have a place in the first team, that's why I did not play."

Cesnauskis' eagerness to hold talks with Fedotovas is rooted in his desire to draw a line under this whole sorry episode.

Reclaiming money owed will allow him to move on with his career. He will be 28 by the start of next season and should be approaching his peak, however lack of first-team exposure over the last two seasons has been to the player's detriment and he is now at the crossroads.

He is presently training alone in Lithuania but knows that lack of structured team workouts will gradually see his fitness levels deteriorate over a period of time.

Once the wage dispute with Kaunas is resolved he hopes to find another club and does not dismiss the possibility of returning to Scotland. One thing is for certain, he has no intention of staying in his homeland.

"I will try to find a club, but not in Lithuania," he said. "I might have some opportunities to go back to Scotland. I like Scotland, I like the league and I was happy there when I was playing. Hearts have good supporters and it was a good time there. I want to say thank you to them.

"My best time in Edinburgh was finishing in second place and winning the cup. I played a lot of games so it was good memories.

"It's important for me to play for my national team so just now it is a difficult situation.

"I'm not playing games and I'm not training with a team. I train myself and do some running but it's not the same. I will be ready for the summer, try to find a club and be ready for the international games again."