Burley at the very heart of new Romanov dynasty

When Vladimir Romanov descended upon Edinburgh last November like a poor man’s Roman Abramovich (well, his personal fortune is estimated at a relatively paltry £250 million) and announced that Hearts would replace the Old Firm as the most powerful club in Scotland within three years, many were they who sneered: “I’ll have whatever brand of vodka he’s been drinking.”

Ten months on, Hearts sit atop the Premier League; seven games played, seven games won, 20 goals scored, three conceded, five points ahead of Celtic and a whopping eight above Rangers whom they welcome to Tynecastle on Saturday in a game which has captured the imagination far and wide.

A Russian-born Lithuanian who used to sell Beatles records from the boot of his car back in the USSR 40 years ago, Romanov, 58, funded a Chelsea-style revolution during the summer months, bringing in a manager of his own choice — George Burley — and nine new players, most of whom were also of his own choice, after seeing his latest business interest finish fifth in the 2004-05 league campaign 43 points behind champions Rangers.

Not for nothing does Romanov like to imagine he is a direct descendant of the Russian tsars; since he personally finances the deals which have brought the likes of Greece Euro 2004-winning defender Takis Fyssas to the Scottish capital, he regards it as his divine right to decide who should be added to the wage bill. It is Burley’s job to coach the players and select the team. What would appear to be a working practice fraught with pitfalls has, thus far at least, proved a remarkable success, sending a welcome gust of fresh air wafting through Scottish football.

Of all Romanov’s acquisitions — and Czech international midfielder Rudi Skacel has already become an icon to the fans having broken a club record by scoring in all seven league games — the appointment of Burley, voted England’s Manager of the Year in 2001 when he guided newly-promoted Ipswich into Europe, may prove to be the most astute of all. Too young at 49 to remember when Hearts last won the championship in 1960, Burley knows is it 21 seasons now since Aberdeen briefly interrupted the Old Firm’s traditional domination and fully accepts that third place and entry to the UEFA Cup remain the club’s most realistic aims come next May.

“We’re not a quarter of the way into the season and it’s not until the last quarter that you start looking seriously at league positions,” Burley says. “When I first arrived in Scotland, everyone said it would be great to have a third team which could compete with the Old Firm, and I still think that’s a bit of a dream, really. But seven games gone, we’ve got an incredible record which no one could have envisaged and a fortnight ago we were named UEFA’s Team of the Week. That said, we’re in the very early stages of the rebuilding process; Mr Romanov said it would take three years to challenge Rangers and Celtic and, hopefully, that is what we will eventually do.”

Having told and retold successive generations glorious tales of heroes past — notably Dave Mackay, Alex Young, Willie Bauld, John Cumming and Jimmy Wardhaugh, who were among those to inspire Hearts to the league title in 1958 and 1960 — the Tynecastle supporters have become enraptured at the wonders paraded before them each new match-day. “It’s amazing how the fans have responded,” confirms Burley. “We were hoping to add about two thousand to last season’s average attendance of 12,000 but 15,000 turned out for our first pre-season game against Middlesbrough and every match since has been a sell-out.”

A graduate of the Sir Bobby Robson school at Ipswich — where he played 500 games for the club at full-back — Burley has long been considered one of the game’s wisest thinkers even if his highly successful spell at Portman Road ultimately ended in dismissal; Burley’s subsequent stint at Derby, whom he took from the brink of relegation to the Premiership play-offs, came to an even sadder conclusion last summer when he resigned after certain voices at County tried to suggest that he had taken training sessions while under the influence of drink. Although not a single player gave credence to the allegation, Burley, clearly hurt by the unsubstantiated whispers, decided it was probably an opportune moment to make a career move.

“Sir Bobby was always one of the most dignified and knowledgeable men in football and I hope I learned a lot from him. You try to act in the right manner on and off the pitch, and you try to set certain standards because that’s the way I was brought up by Sir Bobby. He wasn’t just my manager for 12 years but a second dad in some ways because he took me to Ipswich from Ayrshire at the age of 15 in 1971. It was a great education because I had some wonderful nights in Europe as both a player and later as a manager, and it’s those kind of nights that I’d like to bring back to Tynecastle.”

Given his record and reputation in England, it came as something of a surprise when Hearts managed to lure Burley home to his native Scotland. “But I couldn’t help be impressed. For a start, Edinburgh has to be one the most beautiful cities in which to play football, then there’s the sheer potential here at Hearts. I knew there were plans to bring in a number of new faces, there is talk of a new stadium, the size of the crowd, plus the chance to rekindle former glories, if you like.”

Hearts’ teams of the recent past might have gone into a game against reigning champions Rangers with the sole intent of keeping the scoreline respectable but here is a Hearts squad containing numerous continental influences allied to four of Scotland manager Walter Smith’s rejuvenated starting line-up in goalkeeper Craig Gordon, central defenders Steven Pressley and Andy Webster, plus midfielder Paul Hartley.

“Rangers are probably still favourites for the title, they have numerous international-class players, and have shown they can compete at the very highest level in Europe by beating Porto last week. But, hey, we’re eight points in front of Rangers, so maybe the pressure is a little bit more on them this time.”

Taken from telegraph.co.uk