Hearts are Vlad all over

ANDREW SMITH

VLADIMIR Romanov isn't one for evasive responses. Hearts' major shareholder has a neat line in straight answers, even if they sometimes wriggle like slippery fish. In an exclusive interview, never is such canniness more in evidence than when the working balance between the Lithuanian and his manager George Burley is up for discussion.

Romanov and the Tynecastle supporters are enjoying a love-in. From the latter's side, the 57-year-old banker's estimated wealth of £260m helps. They chant his name to a tune borrowed from Verdi and are being moved to operatic emotional highs because his investment is behind a first genuine title challenge from their club in eons.

Yet, the inability of Romanov and Burley to sing always from the same aria sheet represents a false note that it is impossible to ignore. The Edinburgh side's manager has admitted it is "not ideal" that four of nine summer arrivals were imposed on him by Tynecastle's Tsar. And, while the club's more one-eyed fans may rubbish any strained relations between the pair as merely a tabloid creation, Romanov doesn't. Well, not entirely.

"The red tops tend to blow things out of proportion but they will end up red in the face," Romanov says. "There is no smoke without fire but you cannot throw money at a fantasy. I strive to co-operate with everyone at the club and ensure there is understanding about what we are trying to achieve at all levels. The reality is that there must always be conflict of opinions in a successful venture.

"Anyone who says they know best is a fool; you must consult others. The purchase of players must not be in the hands of agents. Agents are destroying the game. I have my own intelligence network reviewing the ability of players from as wide afield as Chile to Japan. We are continually building up our list and believe this will give us access to a level of information which is better than any agent can offer. Many coaches and agents think it is written in blood that they know best on players. Everyone thinks they are the cleverest. I prefer to ask the opinions of many different people."

Not taking as final the manager's opinion on player purchases goes against the grain in the British game. It makes Romanov a hard taskmaster for Burley, but the approach has not been without considerable benefits for the Scot. The presence of Champions League medal holder Edgaras Jankauskas and European Championship winner Takis Fyssas at Tynecastle is testimony to that. Irrespective of any successes playing the market, in football circles the very process is perceived as undermining Burley. An analogy with the Hearts situation could be hiring a builder to construct your dream home then telling him what type of cement to use. It is one Romanov happily twists.

"If you are building a house and you want it to stand for 1,000 years, it is sometimes better to build it yourself," Romanov says. "As Tsar Peter the Great once said, half of the builders in Russia should be in jail. If it is your house, you need to maintain control over what goes on."

With interests in home team FBK Kaunas and Belarussian club MTZ-Ripo Minsk as well as Hearts, there might be something of a frustrated football manager lurking within Romanov. A notion at which he balks.

"Absolutely not," he says. "You need to have at least 20 years' experience in the game, working with a number of different clubs, to be a successful football manager. My aim is to build a successful football club and that cannot be achieved with money alone. You could buy a Ferrari and exist in the desert. Football management is not my vocation but without different opinions you don't have a football club."

Exactly what vocation Romanov is pursuing with Hearts has been the subject of widespread suspicion. Yet, a fascination for the Beatles throughout adulthood and a penchant for writing poetry are indications that he is not simply a cold, hard-nosed businessman but an entrepreneur with some soul. As one of the world's five biggest financial centres, Edinburgh offers an opportunity for his Ukio Bank Investment Group to gain a foothold in western Europe. It is not a stretch to believe, though, that he really was also drawn to the beauty and culture of the capital and the fact it was home to a purchasable club wherein the passion for the game was as he desired it.

Ego, of course, also plays its part and Romanov wants to prove that his convictions over how a club should be run are superior to traditional methods, especially those largely adhered to in this country. Earlier this week, it was reported that he was in discussions with Inverness Caledonian Thistle over a link-up that would result in incoming player traffic to the Highlands. In reality, the talks amounted to no more than him taking soundings about Inverness's management structure and offering to give them access to some of his scouting contacts in Eastern Europe.

Asked what is in it for him, Romanov tellingly makes reference to the lines of demarcation behind the scenes at the Caledonian Stadium.

"There is a potential at Hearts to put a good football model in place, and do something good for the game," he says. "It is not all about money; money alone will not bring success. Sound organisation is always the key. Structures must be right and the scouting network right to attract good players. The structure at Inverness is a good example. I was impressed by the relationship between the chairman, director of football and the head coach."

Romanov sought a similar director of football/head coach management team for Hearts, bringing in Anatoly Byshovets to work alongside John Robertson last year. Although it was quickly scrapped, this has not diminished Romanov's enthusiasm for the model - as Burley may soon discover.

In the meantime, the man who takes his charges to Celtic Park on Saturday as Premierleague leaders can draw comfort from his boss being in agreement with him over the need for further squad augmentation in the January transfer window.

"In an ideal world we would not want to bring in further players but we understand we have no option," says Romanov. "We will reinforce the squad with a view to winning the league in the first instance. But beyond that we need to build a squad that is strong enough to compete in the Champions League. If you look at some recent performances of Scottish clubs in Europe there is clearly something missing. Celtic lost 5-0 and Hibs 5-1. We want to be in a position to go into Europe and avoid embarrassment."

As he demonstrated with the generous, Old Firm-like, contract extensions given to Paul Hartley and Steven Pressley, Romanov is hardly hung-up about the club's liabilities rising to £19.6m. Ticket and merchandising sales may be going through the roof, but these do not offset the spiralling costs of the football operation. The present spend is no source of agitation to the Lithuanian, who mischievously suggests that it may be troubling others.

"Let Rangers and Celtic do the worrying about our debt," says a man whose bullishness might be owed to not even being down to his last quarter of a billion. "We don't have debt and Hearts will not drown in debt in the future. The Old Firm may dream that we will drown in our debts. They can dream on. We are not currently counting how much we are investing. There is time for that later. I am in a hurry to get things done. My principle is to act now, count later. We have a business plan, we know how the expenditure is being covered."

The recent monumental upsurge in Hearts interest surely figured in this business plan. As, no doubt, did Tynecastle becoming too tiny to cope with demand. One solution under investigation is redeveloping the old main stand to raise capacity from 18,000 to 25,000. But it appears far from the best possible solution to Romanov, even if originally his buy-out was celebrated by fans because it appeared to remove the need to sell the club's spiritual home. Circumstances change.

"In the longer term, my vision is that Edinburgh should have a sports stadium befitting the capital; one that can cater for the population's sporting and cultural needs and a place with facilities for the city's youngsters. Hearts has a rich history. Tynecastle has been its home for 130 years. I understand what this means to supporters. But the 18,000 capacity is insufficient."

By the tenor of his conversation, nothing less than domination of the Scottish scene will be sufficient for Romanov at Hearts.

Taken from the Scotsman