Romanov a sitting target but criticism remains muted

Whatever your opinion of Hearts' majority shareholder, there is no denying that he is a colourful character with a canny knack of attracting attention. At one stage, as his PR company was pleased to boast, he was attracting more Google hits than anyone in Scotland other than the First Minister, Jack McConnell. And, equally undeniably, he is a man of some influence, who has it in his power to change more than a few lives for better or worse.

Passion, too, is something which Romanov has in abundance, as was shown most plainly when Hearts qualified for the Champions League last season with a win over Aberdeen. Remember when he jumped up on to the barrier at the front of the directors' box and shook his fists in triumph? It meant a lot to him, that was clear: this was no dispassionate businessman investing in a football club in the hope of making a fast or even a slow buck.

Which was why it was all a bit anticlimactic at a couple of minutes to three when, as the teams ran out, Romanov simply took his seat. A lot of people had turned away to watch the players before he emerged from the suite behind the stand; others soon did so. No-one sang his name, as the crowd used to do on cue whenever the PA system belted out the tune. No-one chanted "Sack the board" either. It was all very mundane, with the end-of-season feeling being accentuated by the prematurely spring-like weather.

At half-time, with Hearts a goal down, a few individuals shouted at Romanov to get things sorted out, but that was the extent of the antipathy.

This is fairly representative of the general mood at Tynecastle just now. Romanov no longer has a vast army of adherents, but the opposition to him is muted too. Many fear that outspoken criticism of him may drive him away, leaving Hearts in a financial black hole from which there is no escape.

For a substantial number of fans, his attempts to press ahead with the building of a new main stand are a crucial indication of his good intentions. For others, having trust in his intentions is one thing: trust in his ability to deliver is quite another.

Delivering a new stand should be simple enough. Delivering a winning team, on the other hand, does not look like being achieved so easily.

Saturday's draw with St Mirren, barring a fine performance from Laryea Kingston and some good old-fashioned runs down the wing by Andrew Driver, offered little evidence of progress over the course of the season.

Historically, a third or fourth-place finish represents a decent achievement for Hearts. But Romanov's arrival was meant to herald a break from history: no longer content with striving to be the best of the rest domestically, Hearts were now aiming at overtaking the Old Firm and mounting a serious challenge on the peaks of European football. The brief period when that appeared to be at all plausible, back in the autumn of 2005, now feels hopelessly remote.

Perhaps Romanov himself felt that way in the second half, as Hearts scrapped their way to a point. With the support urging the team on in search of the winning goal, a look back at the directors' box seemed to reveal an empty seat. Had he left early? No. Another look showed he was in fact still there, but slouched far down in his seat. He stayed that way at the end, too, his get-up-and-go gone, as those around him rose and applauded the teams off the pitch.

Taken from the Scotsman