Chervenkov sneaks in to pull Hearts' strings

Ewan Murray at Pittodrie
Monday August 13, 2007
The Guardian

Hearts have made such a habit of managerial changes in recent times that little comes as a surprise, but the Edinburgh side trumped even their previous efforts yesterday by sneaking a coach in virtually under the radar, and allowing him to play a significant role in first- team affairs.

Angel Chervenkov, a Bulgarian who was in charge of FBK Kaunas in Lithuania before moving to Edinburgh under the guise of reserve-team manager in the close season, has had much input at Hearts' training in the past month and popped up in the dug-out for the first time, issuing orders to players and appearing, as he is, an integral part of the coaching team.

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It has been widely suspected that Chervenkov would assume a more meaningful role at Tynecastle than had been anticipated at the time of his arrival and Stephen Frail, the assistant manager, confirmed as much after yesterday's draw. Anatoly Korobochka, Hearts' sports director who had been the key figure in the dug-out before this match, will now, in Frail's words "offer advice from a wee bit further back". Frail and Chervenkov - it would be no surprise at all if the latter takes on the manager's job soon enough - are the public and prominent faces of a three-man team.

Not that Chervenkov's influence should be viewed as detrimental, by any means. Hearts dominated proceedings here - they would have claimed three points but for a lack of potency in attack - and swiftly eliminated painful memories of the ignominious Edinburgh derby defeat by Hibernian six days before .

Far more coherent than they have appeared at any point in pre-season, the Edinburgh side will have aspirations of again being in the upper echelons if - albeit a big if - this team remains free of the number of weekly changes so commonplace in Vladimir Romanov's regime. The imminent return from suspension of Laryea Kingston, by far Hearts' most creative player, is another welcome boost.

This was, though, a disappointing afternoon for Aberdeen, who pipped Hearts to a Uefa Cup place last season but have taken only one point from their first two games. Barry Nicholson gave the hosts an undeserved 19th-minute lead, prodding home from eight yards, but Jimmy Calderwood's men struggled to get out of first gear and were rightly denied three points.

Michael Stewart, who showed more energy in the Hearts midfield than anyone else, squared matters with a sublime curling shot from 20 yards only seconds before the interval.

The second half was curiously timid, played at the tempo of a friendly, with Aberdeen failing to find the pace that might have troubled Hearts. The frustrated home support took it out on Calderwood as he withdrew Steve Lovell, his most threatening forward, on the hour. "Football costs a lot of money and they [the fans] are entitled to their opinion," said Calderwood. "But it doesn't help."

Man of the match Michael Stewart (Hearts)

Taken from the Guardian/Observer