FORMER Hearts striker Andrius Velicka admits he's relishing the prospect of a trip to his homeland after Rangers were placed on a crash course with Kaunas in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.
The Ibrox side will face either Kaunas or Andorran side Santa Coloma after yesterday's draw for the qualifiers took place in Nyon and the Lithuanians are favourites to progress.
That would mean a return to the club he first joined as a teenager an
d the 29-year-old striker admits that he has many fond memories of his time with Kaunas.
Velicka said: "It will be exciting to play in the Champions League if I get a chance. I was playing for Kaunas two years ago but there have been a lot of changes and a lot of new players at the club.
"But the game would still be against Kaunas and it would be nice for me to play there again.
"I have a lot of nice memories from my time there, I started playing there when I was only 13 or 14 years of age. It would be good to see some of my old friends, but it is still one month from now, so we will wait and see."
The Lithuanians are sponsored by UKIO Bankas, the bank which Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov is principal shareholder
And Velicka believes that, if Kaunas do progress to a meeting with the Ibrox side, it would be the perfect chance for some of his old friends to win themselves a move to Scotland.
Velicka was one of a number of Lithuanians who arrived at Hearts after Romanov took over and, despite the talk of splits between nationalities at Tynecastle both on and off the pitch, he is certain that there are more players capable of making their mark on British soil.
He continued: "I think that Kaunas must beat the Andorrans. It would not be an easy game for Rangers because, for the Kaunas players it would be an excellent chance for them to show themselves to people in Scotland.
"Every team from Europe that will play against Rangers or other big teams will want to show themselves as good players."
Kaunas coach Andrei Zygmantovich, who has been linked with the manager's position at Tynecastle, is also excited at the thought of a tie with Rangers but insisted that his side must first focus their attentions on getting past Santa Coloma.
He added: "I know we have already played Rangers in the qualifiers eight years ago and it would be very interesting to test ourselves and see how we have improved over that period.
"But, I repeat, we must set ourselves on facing the Andorrans first before thinking of Rangers."
The full article contains 465 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
