Romanov pledges £30m

IAN JOHNSTON
IN VILNIUS

HEARTS are to receive a cash injection of £30million over the next three seasons under prospective owner Vladimir Romanov’s plan to turn the club into serious rivals to the Old Firm.

The Lithuanian businessman is looking for Scottish investors to contribute to the fund, but will pay the full amount himself if no-one else comes forward, according to one of his leading advisors.

Liutauras Varanavicius, a non-executive director with the Tynecastle club, said £10million was required to prepare Hearts for next season and then a further £20million would be made available to the club over the next two years.

Varanavicius, who holds a senior position within a Lithuanian bank partly owned by Romanov and was closely involved in the decision to buy a near 30 per cent stake in the Tynecastle club, said: "He [Romanov] wants to make the club more financially sound and prove to others that joining together, investing money together is a possibility.

"Now the company needs around £10million till the summer to be ready for next season and over two years they need around £20million more.

"If somebody wants to come in and join, he [Romanov] is ready to share. If nobody else is coming, he will do it himself. But I think other people are coming to the club from Edinburgh, from the business community. Then there could be more ambitious plans."

Varanavicius, who is also president of the Lithuanian Football Association, said a formal business plan was still to be drawn up and this would spell out exactly how much money was needed and how it would be spent. He said this detailed planning would be carried out by the new chief executive.

Hearts have approached Phil Anderton, the former chief executive of the Scottish Rugby Union, about the possibility of taking a similar post with the Gorgie club, and an announcement about Chris Robinson’s successor to is imminent.

Varanavicius would not be drawn on how much of the cash would be spent on strengthening head coach John Robertson’s squad, but Romanov has previously spoken of a £10million transfer kitty. Some of the money may be used to redevelop Tynecastle or find a new stadium for the club. There is also the issue of Hearts’ debt, which was last reported as £19.6million.

"There are a lot of ideas and this is not my job, it’s just the general figures . . . in the bank’s thinking, it’s a guideline," Varanavicius added.

Speaking after joining Hearts’ board earlier this month, Varanavicius said the club could pose a threat to Rangers and Celtic’s domination. He said: "It was made very clear to the manager that he needs to compose a team to challenge the Old Firm. There are a number of different options for how it could be financed. It’s a long-term plan, maybe three, four or five years. We want Hearts to be a symbol of Scottish football, equal to or even better than the Old Firm."

Taken from the Scotsman