We lack stars but can sink Scots, argues Edgaras

EDGARAS Jankauskas admits his Lithuania team is light on star quality but insists they are capable of beating Scotland at Hampden. Although Lithuania have never qualified for a major tournament, Jankauskas (left) played in a more glamorous era for his national team, one in which he and team-mates such as Tomas Danilevicius and Marius Stankevicius could draw on experience of playing in Europe’s biggest leagues.

A member of Porto’s Champions League winning squad in 2004, Jankauskas subsequently signed for Hearts but concedes he has few operators performing at a level as good as the Scottish Premiership.

‘The main difference from ten years ago is that we have 14 players from our domestic league in the squad,’ said Jankauskas. ‘When you have players coming from the German, Spanish and Italian leagues, it helps. It brings experience and knowledge to the group.

‘We don’t have that now. And I can’t say that our domestic league is any stronger than it was a decade ago. So we are facing a serious problem — we are not developing players.

‘But our strength is unity. We are a team and I have a good feeling about the spirit in this group.’

His players’ performance in the opening World Cup qualifier against Slovenia has given the coach heart.

If naivety contributed to the concession of a stoppage-time equaliser, Jankauskas was thrilled by the way in which his team had raced into a two-goal first-half lead.

‘We are not strong enough to solve the game individually, so we have to work together and we did that against Slovenia,’ he said. ‘We had some brilliant moments and invented some nice things. For 70 minutes, we handled a technically strong Slovenia team well.

‘I don’t want to tease my players but we can beat anyone. We are looking forward to playing Scotland.’

Gone are the days when the Hearts connection would ensure familiarity, and perhaps even an edge, when the two countries met.

There are still one or two familiar names. Former Tynecastle wingers Arvydas Novikovas and Deividas Cesnauskis remain valuable squad member though, at 35, the latter’s days of scampering towards the byline have largely gone.

‘David is playing as a right-sided defender now,’ said Jankauskas. ‘As you get older, the body is not getting quicker, so you have to adapt.’