Captain Marius Zaliukas has signed a contract that will keep him at Hearts until the summer of 2013. The Lithuania international has been on loan from Kaunas for four years and his contract with his parent club had been due to expire next month.

Zaliukas told Hearts News: "I am very happy to have signed a new contract with Hearts.

"I am happy that I don't have to think about this anymore. My head is clear and all I want to do is focus on my football now, keep learning and improving as a player and try to bring more success to Hearts."

The 27 year old has helped Hearts keep five clean sheets in the seven games he has played, with the team collecting 16 of their 20 Clydesdale Bank Premier League points in those matches.

He added: "We had a great result last night against Celtic which followed the win over Hibs on Sunday so it has been a special week for me."