Romanov needs to accept some responsibility

VLADIMIR Romanov's paranoia continues to cast a sinister shadow over Hearts. Where he sees conspiracy, the rest see missed opportunity. The autocrat has severely disabled the club's attempt to finish second and qualify for the Champions League.

After the arbitrary removal of Steven Pressley, the £1.1m sale of Paul Hartley to Celtic has left Hearts in transfer window credit. Yet the deepening qualitative debit neutralises any fiscal prudence.

Having inadequately replaced Rudi Skacel and Andy Webster last year, Hearts concluded their transfer business this time around by taking the number of players on loan from FB Kaunas to 14. That such a scale makes a mockery of FIFA's convoluted transfer system is almost incidental.

It was left to the ever-willing Charlie Mann to sift through the debris in search of a positive spin. A decent and honourable man, he is nevertheless the Vyacheslav Molotov of this dubious operation. Pravda had nothing on this resourceful PR machine.

According to Romanov, via Mann, the asset-stripping is merely a necessary evil to realise the grand vision of a youthful Scottish team playing in perfect harmony with their new-found Lithuanian friends in sumptuous new surroundings. Aye right. The reality is far more sobering.

How can Hearts justifiably claim to be looking at the long-term prosperity of the club while buying in bulk from an inferior Lithuanian league? Last season's championship challenge was undermined by the arrival of 11 players of varying degrees of mediocrity during the January window.

Lee Johnson, Nerijus Barasa, Chris Hackett, Martin Petras, Ludek Straceny, Juho Makela and Mirsad Beslija all proved abject failures. Neil McCann and Jose Goncalves have enjoyed only moderate success. Bruno Aguiar is the pick of the motley bunch.

This time around, the acrimonious "termination" of the club captain, Pressley, and the departure of the club's best player, Hartley, has perpetuated the dilution. This month, Tomas Kancelskis and Linas Pilibaitas have followed their colleagues, Eduard Kurskis and Arnas Lekivicius, down a well-trodden path. Some, according to Mann, will simply become squad players. Just what Hearts need.

Shielding himself from the flak, Romanov's visits to Scotland are becoming less and less frequent. He may grace his public with an appearance later this month but, then, he may not. It serves only to convince those no longer buying into his dream that the Lithuanian does not care about the supporters or the club's traditions.

Parallels have been drawn between Romanov and the workings of Fergus McCann. Transparency and trust are significant differences. McCann took over Celtic in 1994, a day away from bankruptcy. He did not seek the adulation Romanov milked in the early days and made little secret of his intention to make a profit on rebuilding the club. Ultimately, his legacy was a 60,000 stadium and the distinction of helping prevent Rangers winning a record-breaking 10-in-a-row. Romanov has spent £5.9m in buying the school adjacent to Tynecastle for stadium redevelopment but those fans consistently let down remain understandably sceptical. In this climate of mistrust, the owner must declare exactly how he exactly he intends realising his original manifesto: to make Hearts the foremost team in Scottish football and champions of Europe.

Moves for Craig Gordon and Robbie Neilson will complete the flogging of the family silver at the next transfer window, while rumours persist that the players have not been paid on time or, in some cases, at all. Already there is pressure on the likes of Christophe Berra, Jamie Mole and Calum Elliot to fill the voids created by far more experienced and proficient players.

The dressing room, not surprisingly, has the atmosphere of a mausoleum. Language barriers prevent any genuine comradeship while in Valdas Ivanauskas, Hearts have a manager bereft of credibility, having allowed Romanov to interfere in team affairs.

For all their problems, Hearts remain only five points adrift of Rangers in pursuit of second place. Yet it is impossible to envisage this shell of a team improving on last season's feats of winning the Tennent's Scottish Cup and finishing league runners-up.

Their fate is in Romanov's iron grip. It is time he accepted his responsibilities.

By DARRYL BROADFOOT, Chief Football Writer

Taken from the Herald