Scala meets Romanov and says Hearts job is 'exciting project'

NEVIO Scala, who along with George Burley is a front-runner for the vacant Hearts job, says he is "excited" by the prospect of managing the Tynecastle club.

However, the Italian, who has met with both chief executive Phil Anderton and major shareholder Vladimir Romanov, remains in no hurry to pledge himself to the Edinburgh club.

The former Parma coach is to have further talks with the Lithuania-based banker and has also made it clear he would require time to study the Scottish game in detail.

Scala, who met Romanov in Croatia, said: "I had a very positive meeting with Mr Romanov and I'm happy with the discussions. We both spoke about the way forward for Hearts. It's an exciting project.

"We agreed to have another meeting very soon and I am looking forward to it."

Former Scotland defender Burley, who recently left Derby County, is understood to be the other strong contender to replace John Robertson.

Meanwhile, Romanov's interest in three different clubs looks set to come under scrutiny from UEFA. The Lithuanian is the largest single shareholder at Hearts and his firm, Ukio Bankas, are major sponsors of FK Kaunas in his homeland and MTZ-Ripo in Belarus.

After a UEFA meeting in Manchester, chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson said: "We are concerned about the current developments relating to ownership," said Olsson. "We are looking into it because there is a risk that the credibility of our competitions is in jeopardy.

"We already have in our club licensing system that one person is not allowed to own more than one club in the same competition. It's become more sophisticated now - there could be that an owner of one club is the main sponsor of another and have a major impact on that club. That's something we are looking at.

"We are looking at whether major sponsors should be seen as a form of ownership or not.

"We have to abide by EU rules but it could be turned into a sporting rule. If we have owners of more than one club or individuals with power over more than one club in the same competition people ask themselves are the results fair. We have to be very careful."

Taken from the Scotsman