VALDAS WON'T LAST THE SEASON

FORMER Hearts director of football Jim Duffy goes to law tomorrow to force the club to pay the remainder of his contract that was terminated last season.

But last night he said his sympathies lay with Valdas Ivanauskas because he fears the first-team coach's health will not stand up to the daily round of controversy surrounding the club.

Duffy's court action comes as ' former managers George Burley and Graham Rix are also after Hearts for unpaid money.

And also when the row over the decision to ostracise Steven Pressley has brought the club into conflict with fans and created civil war inside a dressing room the captain said was in the midst of "significant unrest" before he was suspended.

Duffy said: "I know Valdas is claiming his break from the club was due to positive stress. Let me tell you, there's no such thing in football. If it was positive why did he have to ' take leave of absence?

"I would be very surprised if he sees out the remainder of this season and worry for him and his family in Lithuania. I hope he can relax but how can he at the club i where he must be at the forefront and every day brings another controversy.

"He has to galvanise the side at a time when the stand-in captain, Paul Hartley, is throwing his armband into the ground after being sent off against StMirren.

"I've been there as a manager and it's not easy to deal with things like that while also trying to keep several other plates spinning.

"Valdas has been left in a very stressful position while being told to get positive results for the team at the same time. "I hope he's okay and I have my fingers crossed for him but I don't expect to see him last until the end of the season."

Duffy blames Vladimir Romanov for Ivanauskas' difficulties and his need to seek legal redress over the money he's owed.

He added: "I want what I'm entitled to and it's now a matter of principle which is why I'm seeing my lawyer tomorrow.

"I know it's a dangerous business to say what you think about Hearts without Mr Romanov's authorisation but it's the right thing to do."

Duffy believes the reason he and Rix were fired is, that like Pressley, they stood up for themselves.

He said: "We were playing Rangers when Hearts were six points clear of them and in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.

"Graham picked the team he wanted to use and Romanov told him to change it. Graham refused and we were out, despite drawing and our lead being maintained.

"I thought we were employed to do a job and I'd rather have done it my way than take Romanov's money and do what I was told. But we questioned his authority and tested his patience by doing so. He sent his boy Roman to tell us we were finished."

Pressley is now being offered legal assistance by the Players' Union after a public complaint about Hearts' "unorthodox managerial practices".

And Duffy sees the row over the captain as causing the outcry that has brought Romanov's rule at Tynecastle to the crossroads.

He said: "Resentment is being shown because of how they've treated people and the fans don't know where the club's going.

"Hearts were once feared but now they're just another team to the opposition."

But Duffy's concerns over Ivanauskas' health won't stop him returning to the game.

He said: "I enjoyed the break to begin with butl'd come back like a shot either as coach or manager."

Taken from the Daily Record