Malofeev points to discipline problem

THE scheduled first press briefing with Hearts' caretaker manager Eduard Malofeev did not take place yesterday, but the former USSR national team manager revealed on the club's website that he believes there are discipline problems within the first team squad.

It was an ironic observation, given that a matter of hours later three of the senior players would make an unprecedented public statement to outline their lack of confidence in the current stewardship of Hearts.

Malofeev had been speaking at a meeting with supporters' and website representatives, where he had tried to outline his initial observations about the state of the first team squad and recent results.

"I have been working as a coach for a long time," Malofeev was reported as saying by Hearts' official website. "I have coached the USSR national team and Dynamo Minsk and I achieved success with each of those teams.

"I say this because now Vladimir [Romanov] has trusted me with the team and I will try to bring success to it.

"It won't be easy because there are problems with discipline. When the team does not perform on the pitch there are problems. We don't have much time.

"I ask you to help us to build this team spirit and this strength and that will allow us to progress much faster. I think the most important thing that you will find for everyone of us is to have this biggest achievement which each of us works towards. When you have such a goal this is your life to achieve such things."

Malofeev was asked if he could foresee any problems being created by his lack of English, and explained that he felt the job would be possible with the help of a good interpreter.

"I understand that it won't be easy but I know football very well and I have grown up with more than 50 players who are in the national squad of Ukraine, Belarus and Ukraine," he said. "With an interpreter and a bit of help from 'above' we will achieve everything. We will try to bring you happiness on the pitch. That is our obligation and we are ready to do that."

Not surprisingly, Romanov was quick to give Malofeev his full backing, a tactic he also employed with former Hearts head coach Graham Rix - who he later sacked.

"I have worked with him a long time," Romanov said of Malofeev. "He changed the team in Kaunas and they became champions of Lithuania just yesterday, although half the team travelled to Scotland [to join Hearts]. I want to make an official statement that I have never found a better coach than Malofeev."

Romanov also stated that Valdas Ivanauskas, who is on two weeks' sick leave from his position as head coach, does not have enough experience to manage Hearts.

"I know Valdas very well as a coach," said Romanov. "He lacks a little bit of experience to manage a club as big as Hearts and that is why I have improved the coaching team by bringing in new people. We have divided the jobs of the coaching staff.

"The situation is that we have a future for the team with a squad with players on five-year contracts like [Shaun] Kelly, [Steven] Slater, [Eggert] Jonsson, [Marc] McCusker, [Andrew] Driver, [Calum] Elliot, [Jamie] Mole. There is a potential that these players have not been seen by anyone else in Scotland.

"Under a bad coach they will never develop. Now it depends on the coach who will take them into the first team and make them real stars.

"Valdas lacks experience with young players making them into stars. That's why I brought in Malofeev to assist the process."

ANGUS WRIGHT

Taken from the Scotsman