FOULKES EXPLAINS BURLEY DEPARTURE

Hearts chairman George Foulkes insists there will be no action taken against the players who supported departed manager George Burley in their dramatic Bank of Scotland Premier League win over Dunfermline at Tynecastle.

The 2-0 victory, thanks to goals by Rudi Skacel and Michal Pospisil, extended the Jambos' unbeaten run to 11 matches and took Hearts six points ahead of second-placed Celtic.

But the victory was almost lost among the incredible news Burley had left the club before the game, leaving coach John McGlynn in charge.

The shock development came just 24 hours after majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov increased his stake in the club to 55% in his bid to take outright control.

The club released a statement citing "irreconcilable differences" for Burley's departure but chairman George Foulkes, who had described Friday as "great day for Hearts" refused to explain the circumstances surrounding the incredible news.

After being substituted late on midfielder Paul Hartley pulled off his top to reveal T-shirt saying 'For the gaffer' and Skacel, among others, wore similar garments.

But Foulkes said: "I have no objection to that at all. They are entitled to their views.

"It's not a great day for Hearts but I can't give the fans an explanation of the circumstances of the parting of company.

"I can't say any more because of confidentiality agreements. No-one would be happier than me if the circumstances were such that I could go into it in great detail.

"But we have given that pledge to George and he has given it to us and I can't break it."

Foulkes added: "It's important for the fans that we look to the future and we are determined to get a top class manager.

"With the kind of resources Vladimir Romanov has pledged I believe we will have a queue of people at our door seeking to come and work here. This is a plum job in British football.

"We are not going to rush it but we're also not going to have undue delay. I can say the club will go from strength to strength."

Dunfermline manager Jim Leishman admitted he was surprised by the developments and said: "I've known George for a long time and I obviously don't know what happened but I wish him all the best."

Hearts captain Steven Pressley has expressed the "bitter disappointment" at the departure of manager George Burley.

Pressley was dismissed in the final minute of the win over Dunfermline, where first-team coach John McGlynn took charge of the team in place of Burley.

But the Scotland international admitted the players were devastated by the loss of Burley.

Pressley told BBC Scotland: "I received a phone call at 10am telling me the disappointing news.

"I was bitterly disappointed because the manager had become a very popular figure in the dressing room. He is very much a players' manager, a great tactician and his training sessions were first class.

"I can only speak for the dressing room and we are extremely disappointed.

"We showed our professional side today with a first-class performance and result which he would have been proud of. We must continue to do that.

"I know how popular he was but the players are employed to do one thing only - get results.

"We cannot dictate to the board their decisions, we can only answer to them.

"We are very disappointed but we will have to continue trying to get results for the club."

But Pressley insists the "differences" cited by the Hearts chairman never surfaced to the players.

He added: "We never sensed any problems. It has been documented that there were problems between the new owner and the manager.

"But this was a complete surprise this morning. None of the players had any idea this would happen today.

"We are so disappointed because I cannot stress enough how popular the manager was.

"But we must stick together in difficult times."

Pressley maintains the squad will continue to do their "duty" to the club.

He said: "We are employed by the football club and our responsibility as players is to get results.

"We have a responsibility to our supporters as well, who pay hard-earned money to watch us."

The relationship between Burley and Romanov has been reportedly questioned since the major shareholder doubted the former manager's decision to include midfielder Julien Brellier in the win at Dundee United in August.

Then Burley admitted the Lithuanian had brought midfielder Samuel Almeida Camazzola to the club, while the ex-Hearts boss had never seen the Brazilian play.

Burley's nephew, Craig, has claimed that the former Ipswich and Derby boss was always expecting to be "axed" by Romanov.

The ex-Celtic and Scotland midfielder told the Sunday Mail: "I'm not close with George but I have spoken to him a few times this season.

"He wasn't happy with the interference as he has always been his own man.

"George realised the axe was going to come down on him. I'm just astonished by the timing - it's inexplicable.

"George won't be short of offers. Clubs were queueing up for him when he left Derby and they will be even keener after what he has achieved at Hearts.

"I thought Romanov would wait until the team lost a few games so he would have a good reason to get rid of George.

"If Hearts' season falls away now, it is all Romanov's fault."

Taken from sportinglife.com