Three years to the title

PAUL KIDDIE

AMBITIOUS Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov threw down the gauntlet to the Old Firm today by targeting the SPL title within three years.

The Lithuanian banker, the majority shareholder at Tynecastle, watched the Jambos crush arch rivals Hibs 4-0 in Gorgie yesterday to storm to the top of the table.

Goals from Rudi Skacel, Paul Hartley (pen), Stephen Simmons and Saulius Mikoliunas completed an emphatic derby triumph for the hosts, who lead Rangers on goal difference. The two sides are the only teams with 100 per cent records after just two matches of the top flight's new season.

On buying out former chief executive Chris Robinson earlier this year, Romanov raised more than a few eyebrows when he stated he wanted Hearts to break the stranglehold which Rangers and Celtic currently have on the game in Scotland.

It is early days in his Gorgie revolution but the Baltic millionaire today insisted he wants to see the league flag unfurled over Tynecastle in the not too distant future - and he has vowed to keep splashing the cash to see his dream fulfilled.

In a rare one-to-one interview, he told the Evening News: "I want us to be champions in three years time. If we can do it sooner then so much the better.

"We are at the top of the table at the moment and the aim has to be to try to stay there. We have a good coach and it will take time for the new players to settle in. But, hopefully, with the help of the kind of atmosphere we had at Tynecastle yesterday, Hearts will achieve great results. I want us to be fighting for the championship, nothing else. And I want all the fans to believe in that dream which will hopefully come true."

He added: "This is just the beginning and there is still a lot of work to be done. We will invest in the youth set-up which is the future of the club. I also want to improve the general structure and organisation of the football club because, if you don't have that, then money won't help. It will be like sand disappearing in water."

Romanov has bankrolled George Burley's spending spree which has seen Skacel, Roman Bednar, Julien Brellier, Edgaras Jankauskas and Michal Pospisil arrive at Tynecastle over the past couple of weeks and more stars are set to follow.

Romanov, hailed as a hero by supporters after halting Robinson's controversial plan to sell Tynecastle and move to Murrayfield, was feted by the Gorgie faithful throughout yesterday's match as skipper Steven Pressley and his men marched to glory.

"I was happy to hear them chant my name but I am also wary as that might soon change if I make some mistakes," said the Lithuanian. "The love of fans can be compared with the love of a woman - they can change their minds!"

Taken from the Scotsman