Gordon awaits fate as final member of Riccarton Three called to account

PROMOTED, perhaps punished, and probably perplexed. When Craig Gordon sat alongside Steven Pressley when the then Hearts captain protested against the way the club was being run, he can surely never have predicted how events were going to unfold thereafter.

Gordon, who was given the captaincy of Hearts last week, today faces a disciplinary hearing at Tynecastle for that support of Pressley, who left the club earlier this month. The goalkeeper does not believe he will be ousted from the club, or from the side, which is what happened to the other member of the Riccarton Three, Paul Hartley. He knows, however, that the track record of the Hearts management under Vladimir Romanov means it is unwise to bet too heavily on any particular outcome.

When Pressley was elected to the Hearts Hall of Fame last month, he said that making that statement at Riccarton had been one of the most daunting moments in his career as a professional footballer. If he, Gordon and Hartley did discuss the possible consequences of their protest, they clearly decided they should go ahead with it anyway as a matter of principle.

Pressley was the first to be dealt with, being suspended before reaching a deal which severed his links with the club he led to Scottish Cup victory in May. Hartley was next, and although no disciplinary action was announced following his hearing last Thursday, his omission from the starting line-up against Aberdeen two days later told its own story.

While Hartley came on as a substitute during that 1-0 defeat and immediately showed the difference he can make to the Hearts team, it is still a strong possibility that he will leave Tynecastle during next month's transfer window. Nothing has been done to address the problems which provoked the Riccarton Three into speaking out, and the removal of Pressley has left Hartley more isolated.

Gordon, on the other hand, is unlikely to be going anywhere for a while. Even Romanov, the club's majority shareholder who has a track record of capricious actions, would surely not offer a player the captaincy just days before kicking him out of the team.

The goalkeeper will therefore surely receive no more than symbolic punishment this morning. Knowing he is worth several million pounds to a club who have a sizeable debt, Gordon is unlikely to be shaking in his shoes at the prospect of a dressing-down by Pedro Lopez, Hearts' "director of infrastructure" whose many duties include taking charge of internal discipline. "I'm not worried," he said about the impending meeting. "It's something that they see as the right way to go and I'll go in and listen to what they say.

"I'll have my say and we'll see what happens from there. I don't think I'll be losing my place over whatever was said."

Gordon's actual punishment, whether intended as such or not, is surely to have been given a position of apparent responsibility which has no actual power. One of Pressley's complaints concerned the discord in the dressing room which is believed to have arisen from the refusal of several players to accept the traditional role of the club captain in maintaining order.

That complaint has not been addressed, and it will therefore be impossible for Gordon to impose his own authority on the whole first-team squad.

Gordon revealed at the weekend that he had accepted the captaincy on the advice of Pressley, who believed it was important the post should remain in Scottish hands. He admitted, though, that the job of leading the team would be a tough one.

"It's a massive task and a very difficult one," he said. "I'll give it my very best shot and do the best I can for the club and all the players."

Meanwhile, the deadline for Romanov to appeal against a £10,000 fine imposed by the Scottish Football Association last weekpassed yesterday. "He has not submitted an appeal," a spokesman for the SFA said.

The fine was issued for a remark made about referees on Hearts' official website. Romanov claimed they had attempted to prevent the Edinburgh club from winning the Scottish Cup. "Last season, you didn't manage to protect the Scottish Cup and gave it to Hearts, despite all the referees efforts and intrigues," he said.

The case is the first to arise since the SFA tightened its definition of what constitutes a club official. Romanov has no title at Hearts, where his son is chief executive and chairman, but the SFA is confident he is included under their new rules.

Romanov has 30 days from the issuing of the fine to make payment in full. Any failure to pay would in the first instance see the matter referred back to the Association's general purposes committee for further consideration.

Previous instances of non-payment - notably one by the former Hearts manager Craig Levein - have ended up in court. The SFA's articles of association have changed since then, however, and it is now thought to be more difficult for a club or individual under their jurisdiction to have recourse to the law of the land.

Taken from the Scotsman