Lithuania manager Algimantas Lubinskas admits it would be a recipe for disaster to pick all six of his Hearts players for Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier against Scotland.
The coach confirmed that several of the Hearts contingent in his squad would play a part.
But because of the Tynecastle side's slow start to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League season, he will not have them all on the pitch at the same time.
He said: "If we played all six of the Hearts players then we would lose the game because as we know Hearts are sitting a way down the Scottish Premier League table.
"We have played some matches without any of the Hearts players but some of them will play tomorrow."
Lubinskas would not be drawn on whether or not he had been approached at any point by Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov to take a job with the Edinburgh side.
He quipped: "I have my own opinions and not everyone likes them."
Lubinskas also defended himself over claims he did now know Alex McLeish was manager of Scotland.
The Lithuania boss was embarrassed earlier in the week by reports that he had failed to notice Walter Smith's departure and the appointment of McLeish.
He also appeared disenchanted with the coverage his squad were getting since they arrived in Scotland on Thursday, believing too much emphasis is being afforded to McLeish's side's trip to France next week.
Speaking through an interpreter, Lubinskas said: "In your newspapers you are writing mostly about the France match and not about the Lithuania game.
"I know you have been writing that I haven't watched videos of Scotland's games and that I didn't know you had changed manager.
"But my English is not as good as your Scottish so maybe someone has interpreted that wrongly."
Lubinskas, who has been coaching the Lithuanian national side for nine years, was also adamant his side would do their best at Hampden, but had to be realistic about their chances and aims for the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
He said: "We have been reading your newspapers and we see you are writing that Scotland will win and we will lose.
"So maybe you know better as you are writing about a victory over France and also hoping that France beat Italy.
"Lithuania is a small country and you can't talk about us in the same way as France.
"We will try to do our best, we will try to attack and not only defend.
"We want to play nice football for the fans. Our main focus as a team is to attack Scotland but only after some good defending.
"We are not talking about finishing first or second in the group, for us it is important to play well against the likes of Georgia and not to lose against strong teams like Scotland."
Asked if he thought his own side were stronger now than they were when Scotland defeated them 2-1 in Kaunas a year ago, Lubinskas said: "We will know the answer to that after Saturday's match."
But because of the Tynecastle side's slow start to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League season, he will not have them all on the pitch at the same time.
He said: "If we played all six of the Hearts players then we would lose the game because as we know Hearts are sitting a way down the Scottish Premier League table.
"We have played some matches without any of the Hearts players but some of them will play tomorrow."
Lubinskas would not be drawn on whether or not he had been approached at any point by Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov to take a job with the Edinburgh side.
He quipped: "I have my own opinions and not everyone likes them."
Lubinskas also defended himself over claims he did now know Alex McLeish was manager of Scotland.
The Lithuania boss was embarrassed earlier in the week by reports that he had failed to notice Walter Smith's departure and the appointment of McLeish.
He also appeared disenchanted with the coverage his squad were getting since they arrived in Scotland on Thursday, believing too much emphasis is being afforded to McLeish's side's trip to France next week.
Speaking through an interpreter, Lubinskas said: "In your newspapers you are writing mostly about the France match and not about the Lithuania game.
"I know you have been writing that I haven't watched videos of Scotland's games and that I didn't know you had changed manager.
"But my English is not as good as your Scottish so maybe someone has interpreted that wrongly."
Lubinskas, who has been coaching the Lithuanian national side for nine years, was also adamant his side would do their best at Hampden, but had to be realistic about their chances and aims for the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
He said: "We have been reading your newspapers and we see you are writing that Scotland will win and we will lose.
"So maybe you know better as you are writing about a victory over France and also hoping that France beat Italy.
"Lithuania is a small country and you can't talk about us in the same way as France.
"We will try to do our best, we will try to attack and not only defend.
"We want to play nice football for the fans. Our main focus as a team is to attack Scotland but only after some good defending.
"We are not talking about finishing first or second in the group, for us it is important to play well against the likes of Georgia and not to lose against strong teams like Scotland."
Asked if he thought his own side were stronger now than they were when Scotland defeated them 2-1 in Kaunas a year ago, Lubinskas said: "We will know the answer to that after Saturday's match."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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