Bewildered Tynecastle looks for answers<

Then another fan stood up and yelled at Vladimir Romanov. “Get tae f*** Romanov,” he screeched, his face red with anger and frustration. The Lithuanian, who does not speak English, grinned benignly and waved his fist. The two reactions from the main stand, the veering emotions, captured the unreality of the occasion. As if to add to the unlikeliness, Graeme Souness, the Newcastle manager, and Mick McCarthy, the Sunderland manager, were watching from the main stand. It was a day gripped by confusion.

The supporters had arrived at the ground beforehand wearing puzzled faces, frowns of dismay. The news broke at lunchtime and they milled around outside Tynecastle in stupefied silence, dazed by an unseen blow. Nobody seemed sure what to do or say and the fact that a single bunch of yellow flowers lay propped against the wall of the main stand, with a note of dedication to Johnny Haynes, the former England international who passed away last week, only added to the surreal nature of the day.

Haynes lived in Edinburgh and watched Hearts, and you wondered what this principled man would have made of this strange situation, a manager parting company with his club after guiding them to the top of the league, unbeaten after the first quarter of the season.

When Romanov appeared, dressed in black and flanked by similarly gloomy associates, everybody seemed to pause. There was a silence, a hush of doubt as he walked towards the stadium’s front door. Then one supporter stepped forward and asked for a picture. The Lithuanian smiled, a wide, sunny grin — one of relief, you suspected — as he posed with his arms outstretched, a Hearts scarf hanging limply round his neck.

Since investing in the club and saving Tynecastle from being sold to property developers, Romanov has previously enjoyed the unbridled support of the Hearts fans. Last Friday, he increased his shareholding in the club to 55.5%, another step towards taking outright ownership, and we wondered how the fans would react to him. The one angry supporter apart, the common response was bemusement, a pleading for answers. There were so many questions.

Romanov looked on impassively when a tentative chant of “one George Burley” rose from the stand opposite the directors’ box, but it was a fleeting gesture and the majority of the home fans spent the game vociferously supporting their side. What else could they do? They did not know what to believe, they did not know who to blame.

As the game unfolded, you felt that the players were in the most fortunate position of all, for they had a match to play, something to fill their minds. That they did so with such vigour and focused determination says much for their collective character. But we should have known that, for team building has long been a strength of Burley’s and his time at Tynecastle only emphasised that. The players last saw their manager at training on Friday and it was Romanov who broke the news of his departure to them during their pre-match meal yesterday at Dalmahoy Hotel. After the shock, they were galvanised by the debt they felt they owed Burley. “I thought we showed great professionalism considering the circumstances and I’m sure the manager would have been proud of us,” said Steven Pressley. “We are very disappointed, but we have to continue trying to get results for the club.”

When Paul Hartley was substituted late on, he took off his jersey to reveal a t-shirt with “For The Gaffer” scrawled on it. Rudi Skacel did the same at the end of the game and so you knew the hurt the players were feeling for Burley. “It was an individual choice to display the messages, but that was a clear indication of the feeling towards the manager,” added Pressley.

The fans tried to chant about being “unbeatable” at the end, but it somehow seemed an empty gesture in the sinking light, a forlorn defiance. The game was over and they were back to being uncertain, of not knowing the truth.

Taken from timesonline.co.uk