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Head coach Valdas Ivanauskas of the Edinburgh club Hearts returned to Lithuania after a meeting with the main shareholder of the team, Vladimir Romanov, announced that he will take a two-week break from work due to health reasons. The temporary replacement for the Lithuanian in the club will be the former coach of "Kaunas" and current sports director of the club, Belarusian Eduardas Malofejevas.
After the Saturday home defeat of the "Hearts" team against "Kilmarnock" with a score of 0-2, V. Ivanauskas refused to speak to journalists after the match. On Monday, it was revealed that the specialist from Lithuania returned to his homeland, where he met with V. Romanov who controls the "Kaunas" and "Hearts" clubs. After the meeting, both announced the decision to give the coach a couple of weeks off.
"Valdas asked me to meet, and of course I agreed to meet with him. He explained to me why he needed a break, and I understood what he told me. Until he returns, the coaching staff will adequately prepare the team for the matches. Eduardas Malofejevas will take on the main role, and at the moment, I ask for full support from all our fans and people associated with the club. I have complete confidence in Valdas and look forward to his return," said V. Romanov.
Valdas Ivanauskas himself denied that his departure was related to the unsuccessful matches over the weekend: "The meeting with Vladimir was organized by me. He immediately gave a positive answer. He asked about everything I said, and it was pleasant to feel his support. As much as it may seem, the meeting was not related to the loss on Saturday. I previously had some health problems, but now is the time when I can no longer ignore them. I want and have to be at the highest physical and psychological level."
"So, with Vladimir's consent, I am taking a couple of weeks off, during which I will return to regain my health. After two weeks, I will return and take on the role of head coach again. I hope our fans understand that I need all of this," quoted V. Ivanauskas's words in the official club statement.
Earlier, the club's general director, V. Romanov's son Roman, speaking to a BBC journalist, emphasized that V. Ivanauskas has not been fired yet. R. Romanov also added that no other decisions have been made regarding the coach's future. Valdas Ivanauskas briefly mentioned on Sunday that he would give his opinion after the conversation with V. Romanov.
There were also reports over the weekend that the captain of the Scottish team Hearts, Steven Pressley, urged the coach who frequently uses different starting lineups to stop changing the team's composition.
The owner of Hearts, V. Romanov, last season dismissed George Burley and Graham Rix from the head coach position, but despite the unsuccessful performance in European cup tournaments, he decided to keep V. Ivanauskas, who was initially an interim coach in that position.
At the moment, the "Hearts" team, currently in second place in the Scottish championship, is 8 points behind the current champion, the "Celtic" club, but is ahead of another Glasgow team, the "Rangers," in third place by two points.
