Romanov wants Hearts to be '70 per cent Scottish'

MAJORITY shareholder Vladimir Romanov wants the Hearts playing and coaching staff to be 70 per cent Scottish, and has told a meeting of the club's supporters that he has no influence over team selection.

Romanov, who famously replied "I did and I will" when asked in an interview in September if he picked the side, went on a charm offensive over the weekend.

He met the "G10" fans' umbrella group on Friday afternoon at Tynecastle, attended a charity function in the evening, then travelled to Inverness for Hearts' game the following day. After meeting the fans' representatives, Romanov maintained that Steven Pressley and the other Scots in the team will be the backbone of the side ahead of head coach Valdas Ivanauskas resuming his role after ill-health today.

Pressley returned to the side on Saturday after missing the last two games amid talk of a plot to oust him from the captaincy.

A spokesman for Romanov said: "Vladimir wants to go ahead with 70 per cent of Scots among the players and coaching staff. There will be Lithuanians coming in, but we have to see if they are good enough. There are three criteria - if they are good enough, if they have a desire to play for Hearts, and if they come within the finances of the club.

"As far as he is concerned, the future for Hearts is about young players and 70 per cent of them being Scots. Vladimir wants to see stability on the coaching staff. No-one ever said Valdas was not coming back. The main driver coming back was his health, and he now feels his health is good enough to come back.

"Mr Romanov admitted there may be ups and downs on the way forward, but he wants to get the system right and everyone back together and moving forward. He described Steven Pressley as the cement in the team."

A statement released on behalf of the Hearts fans' groups said: "The supporters' groups discussed a number of concerns with Vladimir Romanov and the key concerns were club stability and team performance.

"It was clear that Mr Romanov shares our concerns and is saddened by recent team performances. In addition he assured us that Steven Pressley remains captain. Mr Romanov also stated that he has no influence on team selection."

ANGUS WRIGHT

Taken from the Scotsman