ROMANOV CAN END MY 20 YEARS OF TITLE HELL SAYS WALLACE MERCER

WALLACE MERCER walked out of Dens Park one May day in 1986 and swallowed hard to suppress tears he could never dare show.

For the past two decades, the bitter taste of Hearts' last-day defeat to Dundee has gripped the back of the former chairman's throat like a sip from a badly corked bottle of Chateau Lafite.

Their infamous 2-0 loss, coupled with a 5-0 win for Celtic at St Mirren,handed the title to Davie Hay's side in a final-day showdown that remained unmatched for years.

Now Mercer believes he will be around to see Vladimir Romanov and George Burley deliver what he and Alex MacDonald so narrowly failed to achieve by taking the Jambos to their first title success since 1960Personality Mercer stamped his enormous personality across Hearts in 14 years at the club in which the only thing that failed to match the sparkle in the property tycoon's eyes was the glint from silverware in the Tynecastle trophy room.

Mercer still retains the holiday home in the South of France to which he semi-retired11years ago, but he still has a portfolio of business interests in the capital which keep him more often than not in his homeland these days.

He has become a regular at Tynecastle again and admits he is hugely impressed by the inroads Romanov has made at the club.

Mercer isn't about to jump on the bandwagon that says Hearts are heading for the title this season - he reckons Celtic are favourites for now - but he knows Romanov is well equipped to deliver sustained success in the future, so long as the Edinburgh business community get behind his plans.

Mercer said: "I still remember that day in 1986 and that night I went out for a meal with my wife because I had seen all the tears and heartbreak I could handle.

"The only person who couldn't cry that day was me because I was chairman.

"I remember we started the season so badly and won only two of our opening nine fixtures before going on a run of26games without defeat.

"I believe Hearts can fulfil the ambitions of Vladimir but I'd prefer to wait another 10 games before I make a more controlled judgment on their title chances.

"At the moment, Celtic are favourites because Gordon Strachan has his feet under the table and his squad are settled.

"Rangers are struggling to battle on two fronts with injury problems and players who are not up to the mark. Hibs also deserve praise for having a good, young squad who are competitive but it's undoubtedly Celtic who are favourites at the moment.

"However, I've been absolutely astonished that within four weeks of George Burley's appointment, he managed to put together such a good squad of what were, technically, free transfer players.

"This Hearts team will probably find their season works out the other way to ours in 1986 and will find the second half of the campaign more difficult than the first.

"Teams will set themselves up strategically because they will now know how Hearts play,which is why a better judgment on their chances can be made at Christmas.

"However, by then Vladimir and George will also have a better idea of the players they need to bring in come January and will have a little more time to be selective."

Hearts fans are fretting over the long-term future at the club of the likes of top scorer Rudi Skacel,even though the club have first option to snap him up on a permanent deal from Marseille. However, Mercer reckons the most important figure Hearts need to see committed to the long-term future of the club is Romanov himself and he has called on the business community to support his grand vision for the club.

Mercer added: "The important thing is to get Vladimir to stay the course and he has got to have the balls to hang in there for the next two to three years.

"Vladimir must have courage and he must also have Scots around him who are advising him properly in the planning, business and financial process.

"If there is anything I or my colleagues can do we'll help because this is a marvellous project and they ought to be congratulated for all they have achieved in pulling this club back from the brink and sticking with Tynecastle Invest "Business support is also fundamental. I always had a problem with people saying they couldn't put money into Hearts because they would also have to invest in Hibs.

"But Vladimir has been very astute in signing a top-class chief executive in Phil Anderton."

Mercer has warmly welcomed the move by Romanov to bring the club back into private ownership.

However, he will not sell the small number of shares he and his family still own.

He said: "I'm absolutelythrilled - a stock market is for widows and orphans, not a football club "Earlier worries I may have held about Romanov have been dispelled because this takes his involvement to a different level.

"I'm also pleased that, by taking over SMG's shareholding, he finally extinguishes their name and Chris Robinson's name from Hearts

Taken from the Daily Record