Players shouldn't be affected by what's happening in the boardroom at Tynecastle

JIM DUFFY

TALK about a club in mini-meltdown and there are marked differences between Dundee going into administration and the current situation at Hearts but neither are pleasant experiences for the players and the fans. They are the people who are usually the last to find out what is happening but they are also the people who like uncertainty most.

And at the moment, there are lavish helpings of uncertainty at Tynecastle. While the supporters are agitated, the most crucial thing is the fact it won't be helping the mood in the dressing room.

Losing George Burley was the biggest blow. The departures of chief executive Phil Anderton and chairman George Foulkes has simply spiced up the mix and ensured the club remain firmly in the media spotlight. The hiring and firing decisions taken by Vladimir Romanov have spread unrest and confusion but the reality is that while the players who have been there for a while may dread the thought of things returning to the days of Chris Robinson when off-field matters often overshadowed what was happening on the pitch, they are unlikely to be mourning the departures of two men who they will have had limited dealings with. That's not unfeeling, it's just reality.

The only time players really cross paths with the men in suits is when they are negotiating contracts and even then it is usually the agents who do that and the only other occasion they come into contact is at club functions. So while players will be unsettled by the latest unrest, they will be infinitely more concerned by the absence of a manager.

That could be remedied in the early part of the week and will be a big advantage when it comes to stabilising the club. Football is ultimately about players and what happens on the pitch and if they are happy, they tend to get results and if they get the right results then the fans are happy. Everything else is secondary.

At the moment the players will be worried about who is coming in and whether they can make the right kind of impression and ensure they feature is his plans. To be honest, the Scottish players in the squad are likely to be feeling more frustrated than most. Having been through this kind of thing before, when Craig Levein left, followed by John Robertson, they now face having to prove themselves all over again and that can be worrying for players. It will be less of an issue with the foreign players. On the continent, the managerial tenure is notable for the fact that it is usually short-lived. Very few managers remain in one job year after year so players are more at ease with comings and goings than those used to the British game where coaches have a bit more stability.

That may be a factor in Hearts' favour. With a good helping of incomers, who are less perturbed by these kind of events, the atmosphere will be less fraught. It also helps that they have been on a winning run and have the confidence all players derive from that.

The biggest asset though is the fact they seem to have quickly developed a very good team spirit and they a squad that is not renowned for leaks and spilling stories to the press. Being so close-knit helps as rumours don't get a chance to grow arms and legs and integral to that is a guy like Steven Pressley. Having been at the club long enough to see managers come and go, he is invaluable. He will have done his best to reassure and gee-up team-mates and will undoubtedly have made it clear very early on that it would be in their own best interests to keep things in-house and low key. That's the person he is. He shoulders his responsibilities well and while he has been the team spokesman, he hasn't sought out the media. Anything he has said has been considered and sensible and because of the respect he has in the dressing room and in the game as a whole, he has been the perfect person to do the talking.

He will be grateful for the arrival of the new manager in the next few days though. The players have done their best to keep things ticking over and respond to the interim management of John McGlynn but eventually players want a manager in place. They need to know who they are answering to long-term and although there has been a slight stutter in form in the absence of George Burley, when the new man is appointed they will soon be making real inroads again. Ironically, the job will be slightly easier for the new man than it would have been if he had taken over three weeks go, when the team was flying. At that point they were unbeaten and top of the league with a gap of a few points between themselves and Celtic. Since then Celtic have pegged them back and the form has been a little shakier, which means that task of taking over from George Burley is not quite as thankless as it would have been. Especially as so many of the stories will still focus on the search for a new chief executive and the workings of Roman Romanov will still be under close scrutiny as people attempt to alternately quell the rumours or stir up the conspiracy theories.

But the Hearts' fans grumbling and woes are understandable given everything that has happened there over the past few years. They know how close their club came to having to move away from it's spiritual home, they know all about the debt and the money concerns and they were happy to believe that the bad old days were behind them. The season had been a dream and the fear is that it is all beginning to unravel before their eyes. The upheaval has certainly been unhelpful and unwelcome but they shouldn't give up just yet. I still believe they will split the Old Firm and I wouldn't rule out a credible title challenge just yet.

Taken from the Scotsman