Wooden Hearts mean show is over for Pressley

By Alan Campbell

EVEN if, against expectation, Vladimir Romanov and his conduit Eduard Malofeev bow to supporter pressure and restore club captain Steven Pressley to his rightful position this afternoon, a change of environment in January seems inevitable for the Scotland defender.

Pressley’s humiliation is set to be continued this afternoon with the captain’s notes in the match programme being attributed to rookie fellow central defender Christophe Berra. It’s like Winston Churchill being replaced by Private Pike, and is a calculated insult to the man who has embodied all that is best in Hearts; the rupture between him and Romanov is now irreparable.

The events of last Monday, when Pressley decided he was mentally unfit to play against Falkirk after learning of a plot to oust him from the captaincy, were just the most public humiliation in a black comedy. Even when results were going Hearts’ way last season Pressley admitted the strain of the shennanigans off the pitch was taking a toll on his health; a clean break in six weeks’ time will be the preferred option for club and player. With talk of peaceful demonstrations at Tynecastle for Rangers’ visit, it says everything about the disruptive nature of the Romanov regime that the result is almost incidental to some Hearts fans. Last season, when a 1-0 win over today’s opponents marked the eighth straight league win for George Burley’s side, such a statement would have been treasonable in Gorgie.

Obviously three points in the Setanta match against a Rangers side who eased Hearts out of second place in the Premierleague last weekend would be welcomed, but the more principled home supporters have reached a watershed with Romanov. It is now probable that a majority have decided that the owner cannot be allowed to continue running amok, no matter that he saved Tynecastle only 18 months ago.

Romanov is not scheduled to be at today’s game to witness the fans’ displeasure, but even in Lithuania he will hear the groundswell of support for Pressley, who earlier this month was an inaugural inductee into the Hearts hall of fame. That neither the owner nor any director of the club chose to attend the occasion told the fans all they needed to know about the current regime’s respect for the history of the club. Pressley, whose dignified bearing has retained a smidgeon of self-respect for Hearts in these difficult times, sat at the same table as former Hearts manager Craig Levein; the pair may yet be reunited in a professional, as well as social, context.

Pressley is in the last season of his contract at Tynecastle, although a one year extension would be triggered if he plays in 25 games – he is currently on 17. The captain’s reward for his unstinting loyalty should eventually have been a coaching position at Riccarton, but now, at the age of 33, he is set to pay dearly for daring to speak out about the problems at Hearts.

Those pundits who, from the comfort of their armchairs, criticised Pressley for not airing his concerns earlier owe him an apology. For all the fine talk about Romanov believing in free speech, the Riccarton Three were condemned men from the moment Pressley starting reading his statement at the training ground last month.

Whether Romanov has it in him to issue a reprieve will depend on the reaction of the supporters this afternoon and in the days ahead, but it’s impossible to escape the conclusion that Pressley’s position at Tynecastle is untenable.

Instead of confronting his captain , Romanov appears to have been behind an attempted dressing room coup in which certain players approached others and invited them to pass a vote of no confidence in their leader. As was inevitable, word got back to Pressley and he felt unable to play against Falkirk.

Although suspicion falls on the Lithuanian players as pawns in Romanov’s game, others such as Jose Goncalves and Bruno Aguiar have been put in unenviable positions. On loan from FBK Kaunas, they know that a false step could see them playing in Lithuania when the new season starts there next year.

It would be flippant, and inaccurate, to suggest there are more factions in the Hearts dressing room than roam the streets of Baghdad, but the splintered nature of Tynecastle is now beyond the diplomatic skills of Pressley, who, along with lieutenants such as Paul Hartley, Craig Gordon and Takis Fyssas, cemented the cracks last season.

Although he plans to become a coach, Pressley envisages at least 18 more months as a player. There has been talk that he could be the short-term answer to Paul Le Guen’s central defensive problems, but Dundee United will certainly be keen to persuade the Scotland player that he could have an influential role at Tannadice.

Even as recently as the hall of fame dinner, Pressley was convinced that his future lay at Tynecastle. The treachery of the last seven days has shattered that illusion, and now it is just a matter of which club manages to secure his services.

Although his form has dipped in recent weeks as Malofeev tinkered with formations, there will be no shortage of suitors. But it’s a sad, sad way for Steven Pressley to leave a club he has represented way and beyond the call of duty.

Taken from the Sunday Herald