RELAXING at Hearts' team hotel on Wiesbaden's outskirts, Deividas Cesnauskis looks confident, focused, and most importantly fit. The time to stand and deliver has arrived for a player for whom the word "enigmatic" might have been specifically coined.
Tonight Hearts confront a local select side at Rudesheim's Rheingau Stadium – which doubles as the club's training ground during their ten-day German tour. A low-profile friendly it might be, but Cesnauskis requires every available opportunity to est
ablish himself under new manager Csaba Laszlo, something he has toiled to achieve during three-and-a-half years in Scotland. Thankfully, he finally has a clean bill of health to aid such ambitions.
Ability has never been the Lithuanian's undoing. In fact, he remains arguably Hearts' most direct and productive right-sided player. Frustrating inconsistency allied to persistent injury troubles have exasperated him as much as Hearts supporters. With one year remaining on his loan contract from FBK Kaunas, Cesnauskis senses he is at the "all-or-nothing" stage.
The physical conditioning work laid out by Laszlo ensures his players will earn their crusts this summer, although Cesnauskis is more intrigued by regular access to footballs so early on in pre-season. Hearts' new manager has implemented varied but systematic drills which have endeared him to many. Cesnauskis goes further than that, offering a ringing endorsement of the Hungarian's methods and stating a determination to gain his manager's faith.
"I have been with Hearts for three-and-a-half years and this pre-season is better than any other I have been involved in," said Cesnauskis, speaking exclusively to the Evening News. "That's because training is more interesting and we are doing more small games. Although it is hard work, it is better organised. I hope I can be involved regularly during the new season because everything has gone well. Csaba has come in and changed the training process, we are doing more work with the ball. He has made it more interesting and I think training is better. My own fitness is improving. I'm working hard because I want to be 100 per cent ready for the new season. My injuries are gone and I don't have any problems.
"The atmosphere is also much better than it was last season. Csaba has come in, given the players belief and lifted everybody. When you put on interesting training, working with the ball and playing small games, it makes a difference. This is an important way to keep the players happy, it makes their life easy."
Seeking the easy life is an accusation previously levelled at Cesnauskis but one he keenly dismisses. Injuries, most notably to his ankle, compounded by illness have frequently hindered the progress of the Lithuanian internationalist. Coaches from George Burley to Stephen Frail would argue that they rarely saw the winger produce his finest form on a weekly basis.
"Of course that is the difficult thing about injuries, it's the same for every player," he continued. "You lose time and you lose fitness, then you come back again and try to get your fitness up. One or two weeks is not a problem but if you miss one month or more it's a long time to recover from.
"We finished in eighth place last year and the supporters are not happy with that. You must ask supporters if I should stay or not, if they like my style of football and how I play. If I'm playing well they tend to be happy. They shake my hand and wish me good luck, I have no problems with them. They don't tell me I'm playing sh*t or anything like that." With Laszlo still assessing his squad and analysing which areas require improvement, tonight's match presents Cesnauskis and others in a similar position the chance to justify their existence. Juho Makela can consider himself in the same predicament having just returned from a loan spell at HJK Helsinki.
"Every player must show his ability. You can't come on this trip and just look around. You must give your best," continued Cesnauskis. "The manager has two players in each position so no-one can think they are certain to play. You must show what you can do in training by working hard.
"What happens tonight will not show everything. Some players will play but others will maybe play in the next game. For those who are involved it's important to perform. Everyone must fight for their place and that includes me. I believe in myself and I hope my fitness will be okay in future."
With injuries subsided, this eastern European may thrive on traditional Scottish values during coming months, for hard graft and regular game time could see Cesnauskis become a revelation under Laszlo.
The full article contains 804 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
