Hearts' Cesnauskis to move if he fails to cement place

DEIVIDAS CESNAUSKIS will ask to leave Hearts if he fails to establish himself under new manager Csaba Laszlo.

The on-loan FBK Kaunas winger has told the Evening News that he must become a first-team regular during the forthcoming season or look to move elsewhere. Cesnauskis is keen to impress himself upon the Hungarian during the final year of his loan agreement, which expires next summer. The player would consider extending his stay in Edinburgh, but only if guaranteed regular game time.

The winger was introduced as a last minute substitute in Sunday's 1-0 victory over Hull City at Tynecastle.

He played 15 times for Hearts last season but most of his appearances were as substitute. With Laszlo continuing to evaluate his squad, Cesnauskis revealed he must consider his future if restricted to a peripheral role. "If Csaba says he doesn't need me for his team, if I am not playing, I want to leave Hearts," he said. "If you are not playing, you must change club. Csaba hasn't said anything to me so far, he wants to watch me in games first and then talk.

"My loan is for one more year. It's an important year for me. If I play, maybe I will sign a new contract. If not, I will go somewhere else. If I'm not playing after six months I will have to find something else.

"I hope this can be a big season for me but it depends how the coach looks at me. He has been here a couple of weeks and I believe he trusts me. He also has Mikoliunas on the right side, Beslija has come back, so these are his choices. I will work hard in training and then take a decision."

Hearts expect to hear in the next 48 hours whether Uganda internationalist David Obua has been granted a work permit with an appeal to be heard at Hampden.

Meanwhile, Hearts full-back Robbie Neilson is back in light training after recovering from an Achilles injury which forced him to miss the club's entire pre-season campaign.

The Scotland internationalist has had to wear a protective boot for the past few weeks but with that now removed he is free to step up his rehabilitation process.

However, it is likely to be a number of weeks before Neilson comes into contention for selection for the first team. Jambos boss Laszlo said: "It has been a frustrating time for him but he can now concentrate on getting back to full training.

"He's only done something like ten days running so he has a bit of work to get through to get himself ready."

Midfielders Ruben Palazuelos and Larry Kingston both picked up knocks in Sunday's win over Hull but both are expected to be fit for the visit of Motherwell this weekend.