Old firm cashing in on Vlad cull

VLADIMIR ROMANOV seems intent on slowly fracturing the Scottish spine of the Hearts team and, despite promising not to feed his best players to Rangers or Celtic, it is the Glasgow clubs who stand to benefit most.

Craig Gordon, Steven Pressley, Andy Webster and Paul Hartley were the very foundation from which UEFA Cup campaigns, Champions League qualification and Scottish Cup success emanated. Yet Romanov's intention to expel the Riccarton Three from Tynecastle has opened Hearts up to the prospect of three quarters of the team's backbone playing for rival clubs at the opposite end of the M8.

Pressley is already a permanent fixture under Gordon Strachan at Celtic Park, Webster's loan move from Wigan to Rangers has been ratified by the SFA despite Hearts' justifiable protestations, and Hartley is now being edged ever closer to the Tynecastle exit door and a possible reunion with Webster at Ibrox. Gordon is the only one likely to venture beyond the boundaries of the SPL, be it this month or in the summer.

The prospect of signing for Rangers having been photographed amongst the Celtic support at an Old Firm game might be one to fill many with apprehension. But for Hartley it would be a challenge to embrace if a £1.3million transfer to Ibrox materialises. Following 18 months of turbulence in Edinburgh, entering the pressurised cauldron that is football in Glasgow could be akin to a stroll in Bellahouston Park for a midfielder in his prime.

Former Hearts striker Iain Ferguson, who experienced life at Ibrox during the stressful second tenure of Jock Wallace in the 1980s, believes Hartley could be grateful for the escape route offered him by Romanov.

"If Paul ends up at Rangers he could breathe a sigh of relief," said Ferguson. "I'm sure he has enjoyed his time at Hearts, as I did, but the situation is probably becoming a bit unbearable for him now.

"Anybody who goes to play for one of the Old Firm realises the pressure as soon as they get there. You are under a hell of a lot more scrutiny. That said, I don't think the Hearts players could be under any more pressure or scrutiny than they have been over the last 18 months.

"Whether it's Paul Hartley or anyone else, the pressure might not be just as much and they could be glad to get out of it. I think the situation has to be rectified sooner rather than later for both Hartley and Gordon to let them get on with their football careers.

"There comes a time when you have to move on and start again. Hearts are looking to sell them now and cash in, it looks like they want rid of what they think is a disruptive influence within the club. For me, it looks like time to go.

"Looking at Hearts over the past three or four years, the backbone of the team has always been Gordon, Pressley, Webster, Hartley. I have nothing against foreign footballers, I just think those players are the ones the crowd relate to best. These boys are all Scottish, they know what the game in this country is all about and you can see the passion in them."

Ferguson gained fame in Gorgie in the late 1980s for an inspirational UEFA Cup goal against Bayern Munich. The affection subsequently afforded him during his two-year spell with Hearts was, he says, the most genuine he ever experienced at a time when the squad was abounding with Scottish talent.

Retaining a semblance of national identity would unquestionably see Hearts better balanced for the future, for prosperity in the SPL has always required a certain tenacity normally associated with the natives. However, Ferguson can empathise with those now paying the price for their actions of a few months ago.

"When you look at Vladimir Romanov making statements in the foreign press and having digs at different players for betrayal, it must be hard for those guys, like Craig Gordon, who have Hearts in their blood. They wouldn't have made that media statement at Riccarton if they weren't really being affected by what was going on at the club.

"I do look for Hearts' results because I played there for a couple of years and had a great time doing so, but I feel sorry for the people who go in there week in, week out and give a good loyal support. Eighteen months ago they were top of the league under George Burley. Now it is being dismantled. There is no logic to it.

"You just never know what is going to come next and to lose their best Scottish players is never going to help matters. Who are the fans to relate to now, because I dare say some people can't even pronounce a few of the names in the team. If the guys who come in are as dedicated to the cause then the Hearts fans probably wouldn't care if they were Chinese, Japanese, Lithuanian, Scottish or whatever.

"Romanov is doing things his way, and it seems to be his way or no way. If you cross swords with him he can be very ruthless."

It is not only the crossing of swords which Romanov detests. At a recent meeting with Hartley, the majority shareholder asked the midfielder, "do you think you're a superstar?" To which he was given a short answer. It was one of the first signals Hartley received that his relationship with Romanov was souring.

"Certainly, the politics involved at board level are getting more headlines than the actual games right now," continued Ferguson. "There has been a lot of off-field comings and goings and other things which people can't explain. If everyone is talking about the owner and the politics rather than the football, that's never a good situation."

And if the guts of the team are being allowed to defect to rival Scottish clubs, it's possibly even worse.

Taken from the Scotsman