Ivanauskas: Csaba's battles nothing to what I had to endure at Hearts

Published on Tuesday 24 November 2009 08:40

NEGOTIATING with Vladimir Romanov became like a second job for Valdas Ivanauskas during his tenure as Hearts manager. Boardroom sit-ins, hotel-room arguments and conference calls between Riccarton and Kaunas were commonplace when he was not taking training or prowling the technical area.

If anyone knows the strain under which Csaba Laszlo is operating, it is his Lithuanian predecessor. Yet Ivanauskas does not concur with theories that Laszlo is overburdened. At least, not to the same extent he was.

He believes the pressure of trying to qualify Hearts for the Champions League and win the Scottish Cup all in a matter of weeks in 2006 usurps the tension currently engulfing the Edinburgh club, which sits just two points off the foot of the SPL table.

Laszlo wants to confer with Romanov and the Tynecastle board at the first available opportunity, hoping for some reassuring signs of investment to halt the recent downturn in Hearts' results. The predicament is only too familiar to Ivanauskas.

He climbed aboard a seemingly unstoppable rollercoaster in March 2006 when taking charge following the sacking of Graham Rix.

It took him through 12 months of highs, including a Scottish Cup triumph and a place in the Champions League qualifying stage, and lows, such as his four-week sabbatical from his job due to ill-health. Three years ago this week, he returned to Hearts having been ensconced in a Lithuanian health retreat for work-related stress following a poor opening to season 2006/07.

Laszlo is not about to decamp, but his public pleas for support echo those Ivanauskas made privately to Romanov back in autumn 2006 when, according to him, tensions were higher than ever.

"Supporters want better results and better play right now, but I think my time at Hearts was more difficult. There was more pressure on me," said Ivanauskas, currently unemployed after losing his job as head coach of the Azerbaijani club Standard Sumgayit last month.

"I knew how important the cup final was for the Hearts supporters. I remember the semi-final against Hibs: big, big pressure. The final was huge but the pressure against Hibs was much more.

"We took second place ahead of Rangers to make the Champions League for the first time in Hearts' history. I think the pressure was much more."

Despite talk of repeated interference in team selection from Romanov at the time, Ivanauskas insists the strain he felt came from within.

"There was no pressure from Romanov. He told me I must fight my own way," he continued.

"The pressure was my private pressure.

"Our supporters were great and I can only say thanks for staying behind me and the team through to the cup final.

"From Mr Romanov there was no pressure. I had pressure inside because I knew I could win everything or lose everything in a few games. It was a perfect ending that season.

"You must understand that if you have big results one season you want the same results in the next season. A lot of players went to other teams, we had injury problems at the start of 2006-07 and the European games against AEK Athens and Sparta Prague were not easy.

"If you don't have results you must leave and go away, that was my situation. It was critical, I had to think about my future so I went back to Lithuania. You find mistakes, you must find out why results are not good. This is the manager's job."

Ivanauskas gained his UEFA Pro-Licence alongside Laszlo and his assistant Werner Burger in Cologne in 2002. He endorsed the Hungarian as having the required credentials to guide Hearts through their present malaise, provided he receives assistance from above.

"We learned together in Cologne. Laszlo is a very intelligent man, he is thinking about the situation right now. I know the best side of him but as a coach and a manager this situation is not easy. I know the results are not good, I have been reading newspapers and internet sites. But I am not there so I don't know why this has happened exactly.

"I know it is a young team now and there have been red cards this season, which makes it difficult.

"Last season, he got big results and this season the team is very young. I hope he will find the way to bring better results.

"It is a young team, everybody wants results but the supporters and the president understand the situation. The team is changing and they must wait for a better time to come.

"I wish him all the best for the future because being the Hearts manager is a very hard job. He must understand that last season he had big results and this season he needs to think more about the situation. It is a big job for Laszlo."

The weekend petitioning for talks between manager and board will, if nothing else, force Romanov to listen to his manager's complaints.

Whether the majority shareholder is willing to act accordingly will not be properly clear until the January transfer window opens, but for now Ivanauskas has encouraged Laszlo to get his point across.

"I think this, it is the best way to speak with Mr Romanov," he said. "If Laszlo thinks now is the best time, I think it's a good idea.

"I hope they have a good discussion and he can explain his problems and the team's problems to Mr Romanov.

"It's difficult because results have not been good but if Laszlo knows what the problems are he can tell the board.

"I hope together they can solve the problems."