We picked team then Romanov changed it, says Duffy

JIM Duffy, the former director of football at Hearts, has claimed that club owner Vladimir Romanov would routinely interfere in team selection matters when Graham Rix was manager at Tynecastle last season.

Duffy and Rix worked together as a management team, and found that they did not have the final say over what team they could field on matchdays.

Romanov has admitted that he influences team selection, and asks his manager to explain his reasons for picking certain players. According to Duffy, however, the level of involvement went further than holding the manager accountable for his selections.

"Graham and I submitted our team to Vladimir on a Friday afternoon along with the reasons why we had chosen it," said Duffy. "And then he'd send it back with the reasons why he was changing it.

"If you know the rules, that's fine and Valdas [Ivanauskas] knows the rules."

Duffy was sacked, along with Rix, in March this year. Naturally, he believes that Romanov has taken the wrong direction with Hearts, and argues that the club has gone backwards since last season.

"He told everyone the Old Firm way of playing the game was out-dated and Hearts had the kind of style that would make them a force to be reckoned with in Europe," said Duffy. "And then he persistently moaned that other teams were out to kick his side off the park.

"The upshot is that Celtic are eight points above Hearts while Rangers are two points behind and closing in. Hearts are out of two European competitions before Halloween and they've got seven red cards on their disciplinary record to make them the worst-behaved side in the SPL.

"But I don't think any of this will cost Valdas his job. Everybody knows he doesn't pick the team anyway and Vladimir will probably leave him alone for that reason."

According to one supporters' group, Hearts fans are relieved the axe has not fallen on Ivanauskas.

"For the last six months or so, everyone has been calling for consistency and another change of manager would not help," said Derek Watson, secretary of the Hearts Supporters' Trust. "I don't think people wanted to see him either resign or sacked."

Watson believes Ivanauskas must now be given time to transform the fortunes of the club.

"Valdas had a good reputation after what he did last season when he played good football," added Watson.

"We've not seen that this season but it's too early to press the panic button and bring in yet another new manager. He has got to be given time."

Taken from the Scotsman