Hearts driving force Romanov undermining his own work

IT IS a measure of the impact Vladimir Romanov has had on Scottish football that occupying second place in the league has become a matter of vexation for Hearts fans whose ambitions for the club are now sky high.

As recently as two years ago splitting the Old Firm was virtually unthinkable for the other SPL teams. It hadn't been done, after all, since 1995 when Motherwell and Hibs edged out Celtic for second and third places behind a rampant Rangers team who were collecting the seventh of nine successive championships.

Supporters in this country thus had to endure ten seasons of complete domination by the so-called big two. Romanov's arrival changed that. There is a belief now that other clubs can break the Glaswegian hegemony. Hearts proved it can be done when they won the Scottish Cup last season and were runners-up in the league, clinching a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.

Without Romanov's investment and drive this would not have been possible. The Russian-born banker has breathed new life into the Scottish game, shaking up institutions and refusing to respect conventional wisdom. He'll take on anyone: Celtic, Rangers, referees, agents, the media, the SFA, UEFA - no-one is considered off limits.

And yet doubts remain and fester. Yesterday they were brought to the surface when three players who have been at the centre of all that has been good about Hearts in recent seasons chose to voice their concerns about the direction in which the club is heading.

There can be no better witnesses to what is happening at Hearts than Steven Pressley, Craig Gordon and Paul Hartley and if they say something is wrong, you can be assured it is. Pressley, of course, has been a rock for Hearts through all the Romanov ructions, holding things together on and off the pitch while the manager changed more frequently than the weather.

Eloquent, engaging and considered, Pressley has embraced the club captain's off-field duties with aplomb. His performances on the park have been equally impressive and he recently became Hearts' most capped player of all time.

Like Pressley, Gordon and Hartley have been mainstays for club and country during this period. Indeed, regular Hearts watchers have become accustomed to seeing these three players keeping the club going during a season in which overall performance levels have seldom risen above mediocre.

Amid the chaotic team selections - 59 changes in the last 11 games - Gordon, Pressley and Hartley have been the only constants, delivering a level of consistency that has allowed the side to maintain second place in the SPL while playing within themselves.

Without their trio of Scotland internationalists it's fair to assume Hearts would be languishing in mid-table or worse. The burning question now is what effect will yesterday's revelations have on their Hearts careers? Do they still have a future at Tynecastle or have they burnt their bridges? Put it another way, is Romanov prepared to listen and take on board their concerns or is he so pig-headed that he believes he can do without the three players.

Worryingly for Hearts. events of the last 24 hours suggest the latter may be the case. Romanov is believed to have told the players that if they don't beat Dunfermline this afternoon they will be sold to "Kilmarnock or whatever club will take them". While Jim Jefferies would undoubtedly welcome him with open arms, the reality is that Gordon could walk into any top side in Europe. Hartley, of course, has been the subject of inquiries from the last two Celtic managers and although Pressley may be approaching veteran stage, a Scotland regular with an abundance of leadership qualities would be an asset to most teams.

Pressley's use of the phrase "certain colleagues" on two occasions yesterday points to a split within the dressing room and follows on from Gordon's remarks after the insipid home defeat by Kilmarnock last weekend when he called on some of his team-mates to "show a bit of passion when they pull on the jersey". The inference is clear: some players are not pulling their weight.

The apparent insistence by Romanov that certain players are picked ahead of others has not only weakened the team but created a schism in the dressing room. His meddling in team affairs is the root cause of the strife at Hearts and nothing encapsulates the problem better than the continued exclusion of Julien Brellier for no other reason than the club owner doesn't fancy him.

The fans aren't fooled, however. They chanted Brellier's name last week in the full knowledge that his presence on the park would have made a significant difference against Kilmarnock.

The simple fact is Hearts are a better team when the Frenchman plays. That Romanov can't see that merely betrays his lack of understanding of football matters. Gordon, smart and talented as well as a life-long Hearts supporter, spoke towards the end of last season about how highly rated Brellier was by his team-mates and why consistency of selection was so important to the team achieving success.

"The boys in front of me have been pretty much ever present and I think that's a major reason we have been so solid," Gordon said shortly after being named Scotland's player of the year. "We've got the best home defensive record in the league and that's not just down to myself, it's everybody who's played in the back four and Julian Brellier in front of them. He's been outstanding and must take huge credit. Even though he plays in midfield his defensive attributes have been outstanding and he's really helped the guys at the back.

"No-one really knew who he was when he came here but to come in and play the way he has.... he's done a tremendous job for the team but is pretty much an unsung hero."

For Romanov, he is likely to remain unsung. While the likes of Saulius Mikoliunas appear guaranteed a place no matter how poor their form, other players' faces simply don't fit. The arrival of another clutch of Lithuanians this season has done little to improve the team and it will become increasingly hard for the supporters to identify with a team if it is made up entirely of players who can be perceived as foreign mercenaries.

Pressley, Gordon and Hartley are the lifeblood of the Hearts team and Romanov would be foolish not to recognise this. The Lithuanian-based millionaire has raised standards and expectations at the club to levels unknown since the 1950s. But the events of yesterday seemed to confirm that for all his dynamism Romanov is capable undermining his own good work.

Taken from the Scotsman