Pressley: We're Used to off-Field Problems

By Jon West, PA Sport

Hearts captain Steven Pressley insists he is used to the club being in turmoil.

The departure of head coach John Robertson, which is expected to be confirmed tomorrow, is merely the latest chapter in a long tale of unrest in the maroon half of Edinburgh.

It is understood that major shareholder Vladimir Romanov, who completed a protracted share buy-out of former chief executive Chris Robinson earlier in the season, wants a more experienced coach to come in to challenge the Old Firm next season.

The results of a vote taken on Robertson’s future at a board meeting on Friday have yet to be made public but one newspaper has claimed it ended 6-2 in favour of removing a man who only joined in December when Craig Levein left for Leicester.

Robertson left Inverness to take over at a club where he had been a goal-scoring legend on the understanding that his position would be reviewed after six months.

And that has given Romanov, the Lithuania-based banker, the leverage to dispense with his services.

Pressley gave no indication that he thought otherwise when pressed on the subject following his side’s 2-1 defeat at Rangers yesterday.

But the Scotland centre-back is used to off-field events being the talk of Gorgie.

He said: “It has not been an ideal situation. Since I was first at the football club, in the last seven years there have been very few periods of rest.

“Hopefully in the next week or so, everything will be sorted out.”

The Hearts fans had campaigned ferociously to oust Robinson and stop plans to sell Tynecastle for housing development and previous seasons had seen civil war break out across the capital when plans to merge with Hibernian were mooted.

Pressley added: “For the last two or three years the players have had to experience a lot of turmoil at the club.

“We have continued to focus on the job in hand and that’s getting points for the team.

“It’s not ideal but we’ve got a great spirit in the dressing room. We’ve got a lot of lads desperate to do well and I think that has been reflected over the last couple of years.”

Hearts’ hopes of qualifying for Europe had disappeared before yesterday’s defeat and Pressley was convinced Robertson’s fate had been decided long before the final whistle at Ibrox.

He said: “I don’t think anything was going to hinge on today’s performance. There have obviously been decisions made prior to today’s game.

“They have made a statement that it will be announced on Monday and we’ll all just have to wait and see.

“I think because of all the uncertainty John’s asked for his position to be clarified and that’s all he’s heard.

“We can only wait. The players are as unclear as everyone else on the future.

“Monday will clarify the whole situation.

“We’ve all spoken about it over the past couple of weeks and we’re just adding fuel to the fire at this moment in time.

“There’s nothing any player can say or the manager can say that’s going to make any sort of difference.”

Taken from the Scotsman