Signings pose new problems for Burley

“This is a different scenario to what I’m used to,” he adds. “But think where the club would be if Mr (Vladimir) Romanov hadn’t become involved, and how far we’ve come.” Burley made it clear that Camazzola was a player that Romanov, rather than the manager, wanted to bring to Tynecastle, a statement he had to repeat the following day when Ibrahim Tall, the Senegal international defender, was introduced to the media.

Burley insists that he is happy to work with the players, that he understands that Romanov, the club owner, wants to identify signings. Yet you cannot help but wonder how much longer he will accept such a situation.

It is hard not to imagine a tension lying beneath the surface at Tynecastle, that might one day reach breaking point. Last Saturday after Hearts, the Premierleague leaders, had defeated Motherwell 2-1, Burley and Romanov met to discuss signing targets. Burley proposed a number of players that he felt would strengthen Hearts’ position, including the Polish internationalist Radoslaw Sobolewski. Yet when the transfer window closed, the only two arrivals were players that Romanov had identified, with Burley never even having seen Camazzola in action.

“I’d have liked to have brought in one or two of the players that I spoke to him about,” Burley sighs. “There are a number of reasons why that hasn’t happened. There are a lot of things that have to be right in a transfer and unfortunately we haven’t been able to get them. I can’t influence that.”

It might be reading too much into the situation, and many transfers founder on the financial demands of players and clubs, but you wonder how hard Romanov pushed to capture Burley’s targets? Hearts’ season so far shines with promise and that is to the manager’s credit, for he has integrated eight new signings into a coherent whole. Yet questions still scratch at your conscience. What would happen if Burley chooses not to play Camazzola or Tall in the coming weeks? Burley stressed that it is written into his contract that he selects the team. Yet a chairman who so strives to be involved that he brings his own players to the club cannot be expected to then stand back and wait to see if they are used. These are unusual circumstances for Burley, a man steeped in football’s traditions. And another query comes to mind. What if another club offered him a job? He would have much unease to leave behind.

Taken from timesonline.co.uk