Marian made number-one contender for Hearts keeper

MARIAN KELLO has emerged as the favourite to become Hearts' first-choice goalkeeper after faultless displays in two appearances for the club.

Manager Csaba Laszlo today endorsed the Slovakian's credentials as the leading candidate to establish himself permanently in the side. Kello, on a season-long loan from FBK Kaunas, faces competition from Hungarian Janos Balogh, with Laszlo admitting those two will contend the No.1 position ahead of Jamie MacDonald.

Kello impressed during Wednesday night's goalless draw with Airdrie United in the Co-operative Insurance Cup – the tie ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat for Hearts – having looked assured against St Mirren last weekend.

According to Laszlo, those outings have earned him a crucial advantage in a goalkeeping battle which is beginning to intensify. Hearts visit Hamilton tomorrow and the manager has yet to decide who will form the last line of his defence.

"At the moment, Kello is one step ahead. He has been in goal for the last two matches and has not had a bad game. He has not made a mistake," said Laszlo. "He did a good job on Wednesday and there is big competition for our goalkeeping position now. We have three good goalkeepers and the competition is high, but especially between Balogh and Kello. It will be a very good fight."

Balogh has yet to play for Hearts after receiving international clearance on Wednesday to complete his six-month loan from the Hungarian club Debrecen. The decision on tomorrow's goalkeeper will be a late one.

"We will see what happens, we have training and then I must look at our goalkeepers and make a decision," added Laszlo. "This is not easy but the players understand the situation."

Another Kaunas employee, Polish midfielder Adrian Mrowiec, was expected in Edinburgh today after joining Hearts.It is thought he is at Tynecastle on a season-long loan from the Lithuanian champions but the terms of his move have yet to be confirmed.

Laszlo also revealed that Mirsad Beslija has suffered a setback in his attempts to recover from knee ligament damage.The Bosnian winger began light training after a six-week absence but recurring pain forced him to stop.

The Bosnian winger sustained the injury shortly after the start of pre-season training in July and subsequently missed all friendly matches and the ten-day tour of Germany.

"This is the most difficult case," said Laszlo. "I don't have any positive news about this guy at the moment.It was positive that he was slowly starting with running again but he had pains and the doctors must decide what we do in the future.

"At the moment, he is definitely injured and we cannot use him. It's not easy for the guy or for the club. I hope for the best with him."