2ND BEST JAMBOS CAN'T BUY A WIN IN GLASGOW

WITH Vladimir Romanov in the directors' box - should that not be the dugout? - you can only guess what he made of Hearts' latest capitulation in Glasgow.

Champions have the ability to win dramatic games and they don't come much more thrilling than the top-of-the-table clash at Celtic Park yesterday.

A goal down with five minutes left, Celtic looked dead and buried but a never-say-die attitude and a supreme winning mentality saw them claw back the unlikeliest of wins to tighten their grip at the top.

The bottom line is this. I haven't seen Celtic play as poorly this season and in general play Hearts were better in every area. But the sensational ending spells out a huge difference between these two sides.

Hearts can't collect maximum points in Glasgow and don't have a winning mentality when it really counts.

Ten points behind before the game, they couldn't afford to slip further. But they did and now trail by an unlucky 13.

For as long as I can remember, Hearts have always been able to beat the Old Firm in Edinburgh. But in Glasgow victories are rare. Until they can get over that hurdle they will always be second best. Now third place in the SPL looks their best bet.

Remarkably, the fans who travel in great numbers still believe Hearts can mount a serious title challenge but their optimism is seriously misplaced.

The "significant unrest" in the dressing room that captain Steven Pressley referred to last week is now out in the open and that will take some time to heal.

Eduard Malofeev has insisted he'll be in complete control of team selection but as the players looked around the stadium 90 minutes before kick-off, Romanov did his best to ignore his latest appointment to the hot-seat.

Eventually they spoke but until Malofeev starts to play the best players at the club he'll be like every other 'manager' who has been a part of that ridiculous regime at Tynecastle - a puppet.

The Lithuanian banker has happily claimed to have interfered in team selection before and no doubt will continue do so.

Did Romanov leave out Steven Pressley after his skipper had the audacity to highlight the "significant unrest" in the dressing room last week, or was he really suffering from a virus?

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Elvis was punished for his outburst but to be fair to those who started the game, they didn't let it affect them as they got to grips with the tempo in the opening 45 minutes. They were able to take advantage of a sloppy Celtic defence and carve out decent chances.

But in big games these have to be taken and Hearts don't do it often enough against Celtic or Rangers.

Breakthrough goals can be so important but when the Jambos were so much on top they passed up chance after chance.

Saulius Mikoliunas should've scored but took too long before Andrius Velicka completely fluffed his lines in front of goal.

Just who is the main goal threat at Tynecastle? Is it goalscorer Velicka? He had three or four terrific opportunities yesterday and scored one.

That's good enough if you keep a clean sheet but even when he scores a derby double he can find himself dropped from the team the following week.

What about Edgaras Jankauskas? Yet again he was on the bench and does little to justify his huge salary.

At the other end of the pitch, what a boost Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (right) gave Celtic when he was introduced for the last half hour. His presence allowed the home side to be more direct and with Jiri Jarosik to deal with Hearts began to defend deeper and deeper.

Balls into the box from Shunsuke Nakamura would invite anyone to get a goal but it was Jarosik's strength and power that allowed him to get away from the impressive defensive partnership of Ibrahim Tall and Christophe Berra.

Every midweek Champions League outing has taken an edge off Celtic's play and this was the worst example of the season so far.

Strachan's men were off the pace from the word go and rather than skill and ability, it was old-fashioned grit, determination and desire that got them back into it.

Hearts? They promise so much and come up short every time but there's only one man to blame and that's the owner.

Look at Paul Hartley.

For 18 months he was in the form of his life and performed superbly in an attacking midfield role alongside Julien Brellier.

But Hartley has suffered because of Brellier's absurd absence. Good midfield players often complement one another and without Brellier to do all the nasty work in breaking up attacks, Hartley has become less effective.

At this stage last season Hearts were a far better side. Surely not even the most fanatical Jambo can say this lot are better?

But as championship turning points go this was as dramatic as the New Year's Day victory at Tynecastle.

Arguably, Hearts played the better football that day too but it's who goes away with the points that really matters.

Celtic can win the important games. Hearts can't.

Taken from the Sunday Mail