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| <-Page | <-Team | Sun 19 Nov 2006 Hearts 0 Rangers 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ Top | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Eduard Malofeev | <-auth | ROB ROBERTSON | auth-> | Douglas McDonald |
| 96 | of 120 | ----- Nacho Novo 78 | L SPL | H |
Hearts ‘need Scots in the boardroom’ROB ROBERTSON November 21 2006 Gary Mackay, the former Hearts captain, last night voiced concern over the lack of English-speaking coaches at the club and the absence of Scottish involvement in the Tynecastle boardroom. Mackay, who played a record number of games for the club, said he felt it was wrong for Hearts to put so much reliance on foreign coaches and administrators. His comments were made at the launch of a book on the Hearts crisis, Believe, co-written by Mackay. They came as Lithuanian Eugenijus Riabovas was appointed caretaker coach at Tynecastle to replace Eduard Malofeev who, in turn, replaced Valdas Ivanauskas who stepped down after suffering stress. Assistant coach John McGlynn was the only Scottish managerial presence on the Hearts bench during this season but he is to be unveiled as the coach of Raith Rovers. McGlynn, who has spent 10 years at Tynecastle, will take over at Stark's Park on Saturday before the match with Stranraer. Jim Stewart, the goalkeeping coach, does sit on the bench during games, but has no input on tactics or selection. Lithuanian Alex Koslovski is also in the dug-out but is only there to translate the thoughts of the Lithuanian coaches to the players. The club chairman is Roman Romanov, who is the son of owner Vladimir, who has never taken up a seat on the board. The other two board members are Sergejus Fedotovas and Julija Groncaruk, Vladimir Romanov's niece. Mackay said it was vital to have someone on the touchline who spoke English to communicate directly with the Scottish players. He added that it was important at boardroom level to have someone who knew the club. He defended the Hearts fans who had jeered Nerijus Barasa and Saulius Mikoliunas during the defeat by Rangers. Hearts sporting director Alex Koslovski accused them of racism but Mackay said: "The fans were just booing players and some of them have issues with Miko appearing all the time and that has nothing to do with his nationality. "As for issues off the pitch somebody like Donald Ford is the sort of football person with Hearts in his blood who should be on the board." He called for dialogue to try to ease the growing rift between Romanov and the fans before it was too late. "There has to be an openness about the football club," said Mackay. "He is talking about opening a bank in Edinburgh but what is the point as if things continue as they are the crowds will start to dwindle at Tynecastle." Mackay admitted he was happy Romanov had come to Hearts but admitted things had not gone as he would have hoped. "I think he has let himself down since he took over," said Mackay. "I would want him to draw a line under things, meet with the fans and move forward together. " Former chairman George Foulkes believes Romanov could finally be willing to listen to advice on running Hearts although The Herald understands the owner has cancelled a trip to Scotland to watch the team play Inverness Caledonian Thistle. It had been expected he would fly into Edinburgh on Friday to deal with the crisis engulfing the club but that now looks unlikely. "There have been some inklings that he realises his popularity has plummeted," said Foulkes. "If he wants to be successful, not just with the club but with any other business ventures in and around Edinburgh, he needs to bring people along with him."  Taken from the Herald |
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