 On 13 August 2009, Stewart was named club captain with Žaliūkas as vice-captain, although László stressed that they would share many of the responsibilities that come with the captaincy and said "I really have two captains".After Stewart left the club to join Gençlerbirliği, Žaliūkas was appointed club captain by new manager Jim Jefferies.Soon afterwards, however, Žaliūkas' future at Hearts was put in doubt due to failed contract negotiations, which resulted in him being left out of the team.