Laszlo insists he had final say in recruiting Kaunas keeper

HEARTS manager Csaba Laszlo yesterday poured scorn on any suggestion he was just another puppet of club owner Vladimir Romanov after the Tynecastle club welcomed goalkeeper Marian Kello from Kaunas.

While the last goalkeeper Hearts signed from Kaunas, Eduard Kurskis, was one of the poorest ever to play for the club – he gifted Rangers victory with an embarrassing late gaffe at Ibrox last season – Laszlo insisted the 25-year-old Slovakian was a far more gifted footballer who had impressed him during the two games Kaunas played against Rangers in Europe.

"Before anyone asks a question about Mr Romanov, let me tell you something," Laszlo cautioned journalists who attended the club's media briefing at Riccarton. "Don't ask me about him. This was a decision (taken] between me and Mr Romanov. I saw the Kaunas game against Rangers here and this guy (Kello] is a good player."

While it seemed unlikely any player from Kaunas (the club sponsored by Romanov in Lithuania] would be allowed to move to Scotland as long as they had a chance of qualifying for the Champions League, the 2-0 loss to Aalborg in Denmark on Wednesday created the opportunity for Kello to sign for Hearts.

"I was the person who decided that if the time was (right] when Kaunas did not have any chance in the Champions League or Uefa Cup that I needed this guy here," Laszlo went on.

"We need goalkeepers here. I saw this goalkeeper in the training camp in Germany when he played two games (for Kaunas]. He convinced me. I think that the best possibility is to know that we look for quality.

"The owner also wants quality. We don't do too many transfers.

"I don't know about what happened here in the past but the owner has two teams and it would be crazy not to use the possibility of bringing in talented players."

Laszlo believes in structure at a football club and the days are surely numbered when Steve Banks will fill the dual role of coach and first-team goalkeeper. The earlier attempt to sign Hungarian Janos Balogh on a six month loan faltered when the internationalist wanted to mull over his options.

"We made an offer," reported the manager. "He told me he wants to think about this. You cannot force someone to come here. Next week after the Rangers game we can come back to this question and I hope we can make a good decision."

Stressing he was more interested in quality rather than quantity when it comes to making further moves in the transfer market, Laszlo acknowledged that Hearts lacked experience in a number of positions and that his squad was still two or three players short of what he would wish.

While there may be one more import from Lithuania – "I have one other candidate (from Kaunas] who could be a quality player for us in the future but I don't like to talk about this player's name" – it will be interesting to see what funds, if any, are made available before the transfer deadline to strengthen the side in the full-back positions as well as in front of goal. He admitted both young full-backs Jason Thomas and Lee Wallace would benefit from having older 'guides'.

Having also signed striker Mike Tullberg, who will come into contention for a place next week, and Ugandan international David Obua, Laszlo has been boosted by the quality of player already available to him at Tynecastle. He had particular words of praise for both Scotland centre-back Christophe Berra and midfielder Michael Stewart, indicating that Stewart possessed the instinctive leadership qualities required to augment Berra's captaincy.

The lack of a natural goalscorer, however, in spite of finding the net three times against Motherwell, remains an issue. "Even on the training ground, we create a lot of chances and don't score," he admitted. "The biggest problem is (the lack] of a killer instinct."

While an element of hype followed Hearts' 3-2 win over Motherwell, it shouldn't be forgotten Rangers remain odds-on favourites on home turf to win a fixture they've dominated over the past 20 years. That said, Ruben Palazuelos confirmed the new found enthusiasm among the Tynecastle players for Laszlo's commitment to playing a more fluent brand of passing football.

"With a new manager, it's about getting the ball down," observed the Spaniard. "It's not about long balls. The challenge now is for us to play football. For me, as a Spanish player, that will suit me much better."

While it remains to be seen if Thomas will continue at right-back – the availability of Palazuelos in midfield after missing last week's game through suspension could allow Christos Karipidis to drop back into defence – Christian Nade isn't yet fit enough to play 90 minutes and Jamie Mole may again shoulder responsibility in attack.