Elvis hit by Romanov's torpedo

AS is always the way at Hearts these days, there seems to be no definitive version of events about what has taken place at the club this week. No-one seems quite sure whether Steven Pressley was dropped and stripped of the captaincy for Monday’s game against Falkirk, or whether he absented himself from the squad.

Knowing Steven, it would be out of character for him not to want to be involved. That suggests his absence was a form of penance for his being the spokesperson for the team. The Scotland internationalist would have known there would be repercussions following his statement the other week that there was “significant unrest” at the club. Equally, he has met with Vladimir Romanov enough times to know his style.

What might jar is that this was a statement he delivered on behalf of Craig Gordon and Paul Hartley, yet the three players have experienced different fortunes since. How different we might only fully understand when the team is announced for this afternoon’s meeting with Rangers at Tynecastle.

I know from bitter experience, when management want to react to deputations from players that cause them grief, the captain always takes it in the neck. The messenger is the easiest target.
I said at the time that, though courageous, the actions of a trio now being deemed the Riccarton Three didn’t serve any purpose. I couldn’t see what was to be achieved by them creating very public divisions. Romanov was never going to change his working practices and the club has been destabilised more than was necessary. It has merely weakened their own positions whereas, if they had lodged written transfer requests, they could have whistle-blown over the direction in which the club is being taken in a way better protecting all interests, including their own.

Instead, those running the club appear to have been given licence to kill the chief and strengthen their hold over the dressing room. I find it alarming that there seems a willingness to sacrifice the club captain so that the other Indians might be inclined to hold their tongues.

Steven had no agenda when he made his statement. Then, as he has in everything he has done throughout a number of challenging years at Tynecastle, he acted in what he saw as the best interests of the club. He has served these in outstanding fashion. Indeed, it doesn’t seem so long ago Romanov was promoting him as a future Hearts manager because he was such a strong voice in the dressing room. Didn’t he actually say something to the effect that the club had a manager in the dressing room and his name was Steven Pressley?

Now it seems as if the owner believes that having such a powerful figure is a challenge to his authority. And we all know that challenges to his authority are not be tolerated. Take Steven, Paul and Craig out of the Hearts team and you remove the spine of the side and much more. You strip away the characters within the dressing room. And when you lose those, a team’s drive is desperately diminished. Yet, in order that Romanov does not have to countenance any dissent when imposing his opinions on the team, he appears willing to break up what he has helped make good about Hearts.

Without him, the handsome salaries that kept Steven, Paul and Craig at Tynecastle these past two seasons would not have been forthcoming. But without these players, there would have been no Scottish Cup and no second place. Fact.

Romanov has made some business judgments in committing such as Christophe Berra, Roman Bednar, Jamie Mole and Andrew Driver to long-term deals. He deserves credit for ensuring the club will derive the correct market value for these players if they move on. But his team-building judgments appear seriously skewed.

There was a point last year when in order for Hearts to push on they probably only needed to attract a reliable goalscorer and a creative midfielder. But they have gone backwards since then. Look at the team and you could say that they might soon need a centre-back, two full-backs, two midfielders and a striker with presence. And yet there are almost twice as many players on the books as when George Burley fashioned a team that seemed a platform for Hearts to be a real force in Scotland.

I wouldn’t pretend to know Romanov from my brief time at the club. But I do believe that he retains grand dreams about where he can take Hearts. I cannot see him giving up on those for at least the next 18 months. If he doesn’t make good on them in that time, though, it is impossible to know what might lie beyond.

Taken from the Scotsman