ELVIS STILL MISSING

STEVEN PRESSLEY will again be missing from Hearts today as Valdas Ivanauskas vows to come clean on his skipper's future.

The Scotland defender was suspended by the club on Friday and dropped for the game against St Mirren after an escalation in his row with Vladimir Romanov.

Pressley's relationship with the club owner is now worse than ever and it is likely he has kicked his last ball for the Jambos.

There have been no moves to lift the suspension over the weekend so Pressley will be left cooling his heels at home while his team-mates are put through their paces at Riccarton. Head coach Ivanauskas was abroad yesterday "on football business" and while he declined to discuss specifics, he admitted he was not in Lithuania or in face-to-face talks with Romanov.

He spoke with his paymaster by telephone after the 2-2 draw with Saints at Love Street and says he will discuss the Pressley situation today.

Ivanauskas said: "I will be back in time for training in the morning and afterwards we will speak about Steven's situation and also the club. I don't want to say anything more at this moment.

"I spoke with Romanov by phone after the St Mirren game but this was our normal conversation as he wanted information on how we performed."

The Scottish Professional Footballers Association have vowed to give Pressley their full backing, including legal support if required, after he took a stance against Romanov's running of the club on behalf of a number of top-team stars.

Pressley revealed "significant unrest" in the dressing room in October and was left out of the squad for the game at Falkirk last month after uncovering a plot to strip him of the captaincy.

Romanov told supporters last week his skipper was the cement holding the club together, but a series of meetings in recent weeks culminated in a breakdown in talks between Pressley and director of infrastructure Pedro Lopez on Thursday evening and Friday morning.

In a statement, players' union secretary Fraser Wishart said: "The SPFA condemns in the strongest of terms what it regards as the wholly unjustified treatment of Heart of Midlothian FC towards our member, Steven Pressley.

The SPFA and its parent body, the GMB union, have long been concerned about the unorthodox managerial and employment practices of the club and the effects this has had on the personal and professional welfare of our members at the club.

"Steven Pressley has had and will continue to enjoy the full support and backing of the SPFA.

"We, along with our legal team, will offer Steven every assistance to enable him to seek redress via internal football procedures or other means."

Taken from the Daily Record