Edgaras Jankauskas insists Lithuania are heading in the right direction despite being defeated 1-0 by Romania in his dugout debut.
The former Hearts striker is bidding to put his own stamp on Scotland’s Group F World Cup qualifying opponents and is encouraged by what he saw on Wednesday despite Nicolae Stanciu hitting a long-range 65th minute winner for the hosts.
Lithuania, who travel to Hampden in October for the second group match, will also take on Russia in a friendly tomorrow.
Lithuania manager Jankauskas said: “Our plan worked well against a powerful Romania team but it is hard when they have plenty of attacking options.
“We closed them down well but they scored a fantastic goal.
“Of course this is a higher ranking team we played against but I thought the players fought with an honesty.
“I am satisfied, I think we played very well and I thought everyone gave their all, I don’t want to single anyone out.”
SC Cambuur defender Vytautas Andriuskevicius said: “There is a lot of optimism in the squad, and we have confidence because the coach believes in us.
“Even though we lost 1-0 there is still room for improvement. We were only together for three days before the Romania match so there is still time.”
