Not just unrest - this was more like civil war

THE tension in the Riccarton dressing room was intense. Jaws hit the ground as, there in front of them, the man who asked them to 'Believe', issued an ultimatum that was utterly unbelievable - fail to beat Dunfermline and they would all be up for sale and he would field a team of youngsters against title rivals Celtic.

It was the straw which broke the camel's back. After months of putting on a united front in public, certain players decided enough was enough. They were fed up watching as decisions they describe as "crazy" undermined their chances of winning the Premierleague and progressing in Europe. It was galling doing wheelbarrow races and piggy-back challenges for training, infuriating that sessions were undermined by communication problems and depressing to have to endure a team rotation system that was dizzying. But this was madness.

Captain Steven Pressley had asked for clear-the-air talks but this was not the mature debate he had envisaged and everyone was taken aback by the force and the fury Vladimir Romanov used to deliver his message. "He was pretty angry," a club insider said of the owner. "And, even for him, it was totally out of character. He has been suffering from the flu all week, so maybe he had a fever."

His comments certainly raised tempers beyond boiling point as players, long-since split decisively into two camps, decided how to react. The Lithuanians and the other more transitory aides, whose attitude and perceived lack of commitment to the Hearts cause has been blamed for the divide, were unperturbed. The others decided they had to go public. They agreed the statement and the personnel who would deliver it. It was decided Steven Pressley should be flanked by the club's other two key players. The spine of the team, it was fitting that they were the ones showing the backbone to deliver the bad news of "significant unrest" to the supporters.

No-one revelled in it, but one source close to the club said: "It was not just significant unrest - this was more like a civil war."

Indeed, the players were already wondering if they had left it too long to speak their minds in public. "The players now realise that they have probably waited too long," an insider said. "They know that by keeping quiet and not giving Vladimir Romanov a hard time, it has probably looked like they have accepted the situation and all his crazy decisions. But they had hoped to sort things out internally. Mr Romanov's outburst convinced them this was the only way.

"Mr Romanov pays the wages and the players recognise that, but they had been mulling over saying something for a few days. They knew if they made their feelings known then Romanov would have no-one on his side. The haven't been happy for some time but were willing to put up with his interference when everything was going well. They were winning games, had a title challenge, cup success and Champions League qualifiers in their sights. Now there is nothing of that nature to look forward to and Mr Romanov's methods are becoming ever-more unpalatable with Valdas Ivanauskas' sabbatical bringing matters to a head."

It was just over a year ago when Paul Hartley and Rudi Skacel first broke ranks and made their feelings known on the departure of George Burley. Unbeaten and top of the league after 11 games, they were dismayed. They had considered title success a real possibility under the Scottish boss and, following his untimely departure, both players displayed a message of support for Burley on a T-shirt.

Then, months later, new manager Graham Rix revealed more underlying problems when he told players he was not solely responsible for team selection. Pressley met with the Lithuanian banker, pleading with him to stop interfering, laying on the line the disruptive influence it was having on the squad.

Romanov seemed to compromise and even held off on his decision to sack the gaffer he claimed had been disloyal in divulging such matters, wrongly blaming him for the eventual leak to the media. It was simply postponing the inevitable, and despite getting the players' backing, Rix was eventually ousted when he refused to adhere to Romanov's team selection.

Again Pressley faced the media and again he put on a show of togetherness. It was askew with the reality of life behind the scenes.

Meetings between Pressley and the club owner have been commonplace throughout his tenure, but recently they have reaped little dividend. As the void between owner and captain grew, so too did the split in the dressing room, with the likes of Julien Brellier, Roman Bednar, Michael Pospisil, Takis Fyssas and Bruno Aguiar aligning themselves with the Scottish contingent.

The squad rotation has been a major source of the "significant unrest" outlined by Pressley. As fans have made their feelings increasingly obvious, reacting to team lines and substitutes, internally the sense of injustice has festered.

It is believed it all came to a head at the recent derby match, when it was announced that Hartley would be in midfield alongside three Lithuanians. "The dressing room has been split for a while, with people either speaking Lithuanian or English," said a source close to some of the squad. "The mainly Scottish group are angry that players who shouldn't be playing week in, week out, keep getting a game at the expense of better players."

That was the view of the team selection for the game at Easter Road, when Hartley, Saulius Mikoliunas, Marius Zaliukas and Deividas Cesnauskis were asked to win the midfield battle. "When you look at the heart of those players, Paul Hartley would have been as well taking on the Hibs midfield on his own," said one player. "No-one in the dressing room seriously believed that was the best midfield to put out in the Edinburgh derby. If the three weren't from Lithuania, few in the squad believe they would have been selected and that goes for Romanov's countrymen most weeks."

The lack of heart and team spirit has been undermined by the sheer number of players brought into the club. Initially, the senior Scottish players tried to integrate newcomers but when the task became like painting the Forth Rail Bridge, they gave up. By then the cliques were evident anyway.

Having drawn against Hibs to slip further behind Celtic, the players saw their title hopes slipping away from them last weekend. More meddling by Romanov meant another weakened side took to the field and as fans sang for a fully-fit Julien Brellier, who was not even listed amongst the substitutes, certain players fulminated on the field.

"It was embarrassing," said one player. "To have guys like Edgaras Jankauskas, who doesn't even try, straight back in the team instead of the guy who scored two goals the previous week, was bad enough, but when midfielder Bruno Aguiar came on for left-back Lee Wallace, no-one seemed to know who was supposed to be playing where and the confusion and the frustration was obvious. But what can you do?"

Pressley tried raising the matter with the coaching staff after the match but it did not have the desired affect as Valdas Ivanauskas was summoned to Lithuania by Romanov and was suddenly signed off for two weeks with a mystery health problem. That only exacerbated the players' unease as it left Eduard Malofeev - and his interpreter - in sole charge of training.

One irate player described his methods as "f***ing ridiculous," adding: "He screams at us in Russian, everything grinds to a halt as we all look at each other, and then after there has been a long pause, the instructions are relayed in English through an interpreter. No-one enjoys training like that."

But it's the wheelbarrow races and piggy back races which seem to have taken the biscuit. "Malofeev is clearly old school and while his methods might have been suitable for the football played in Soviet countries in the 1960s, it isn't working here."

While Romanov aides insist the players are looking fitter under the experienced Russian, they concede that even he will not escape the meddling. At the supporters' meeting on Thursday night he was glowing in his praise for Malofeev and listened intently as the interim coach insisted he would have total control of team selection, yet less than 24 hours later, in his outburst at players, he again claimed he would be selecting the side and later joked with reporters that he may even select himself.

"It was a bizarre thing to do," said a source close to Romanov. "After the unrest following the Hibs game and last weekend's game, he had met with supporters' representatives and answered all their questions. Very few people in his position would do that, especially as he knew he would face some flak, but he did it because he insists he is in this for the long haul and that he is fully committed.

"After that, everything seemed much more relaxed so I can't believe he did what he did on Friday and said that to the players."

He has refused to explain the actions publicly, having taken a one-month vow of silence after previous comments incurred the wrath of the SFA and earned the club a £10,000 fine last week but, a single-minded man, he has also failed to take the opportunity to excuse them privately.

It is said that he is not surprised at the players' reaction but he is said to be slightly shocked that it was Pressley, Hartley and Gordon who made the stand. "I think he will be slightly hurt because while people accuse him of favouritism, his favourite three players are the ones who spoke out against him. He had idolised those players."

But so do a vast majority of the Tynecastle support, who have made their feelings known. That won't have upset Romanov. He expected the backlash and won't let it avert him from his aims.

An extended Romanov stay in Gorgie will please fans anxious about what happens to a club £20million pound in debt should he walk away, but only if he can swallow some pride and find some way of reconciling the differences between himself and the key playing personnel. There are still trophies to play for and a slim shot at the title. But first the players have to agree to meet him. "At the moment they are in no mood to do that," said one source, "and it doesn't seem like Valdimir is either. Something has to give but neither seem in the mood to back down."

With Celtic up next week and Hibs in the CIS Cup the following midweek, the hope will be that some common ground can be found before then, so that minds are firmly focused on the job.

Taken from the Scotsman