HEARTS lifted the gloom slightly surrounding their pre-tax loss of (pounds) 3.8m yesterday when they signed Leeds United player Alan Maybury to fill the problem right-back area. The Tynecastle club have been struggling to find a man to fill the role permanently, with young Robbie Nielson playing in that position of late in a Hearts defence which had looked ill at ease.

Maybury, who was due to sit a medical at Tynecastle last night, will sign a four-year deal and his addition to the first-team squad will be a major boost to Craig Levein, who was told yesterday the club had reported an almost unchanged pre-tax loss of (pounds) 3.8m for the year to July 31, which takes their losses for the last two years to over (pounds) 7m.

Despite such losses, Hearts chairman Douglas Smith predicts a bright future for the club. He said that the latest set of figures were at such levels because the club incurred a (pounds) 1.5m hit for contract terminations and the termin-

ations of players' registrations.

Most of that money was forked out to pay off Darren Jackson and Gordan Petric as well as the financial package which was offered to former manager Jim Jefferies and his assistant, Billy Brown, when they left the club.

In the long term, Maybury looks a good acquisition for Hearts as the Dublin-born 23-year-old is an experienced player who was capped twice by Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy, before he fell out of favour with David O'Leary, the Leeds coach, and lost his place in the team.

Levein chose to sign Maybury instead of Frederic Viseuw, the 27-year-old defender from French club Caen, who had been on trial last week, and the size of the fee for the Irishman was being negotiated yesterday by Hearts' chief executive, Chris Robinson, and Leeds officials.

Levein was delighted to get his man after working on the deal for some time and believes he will be a major asset to his squad.

''Alan only needs to undergo his medical but we do not expect any problems,'' said Levein, who expects him to go straight into the squad for tomorrow's game against St Johnstone. ''The only reason he has not been getting a game in the Leeds side up until now is because Danny Mills and Gary Kelly were in his position.''

Maybury has had seven seasons at Elland Road and started against Lazio in a 3-3 draw last March during Leeds' charge towards the Champions League semi-final. However, after failing to win a regular place in the Premiership side, O'Leary decided to let him move on and he spent a spell on loan at Crewe last year, playing six games, and came on as a sub this season for Leeds against West Ham on August 25.