ROMANOV PUTS NEW HEART INTO THE FIGHT

WHILE Rangers were in the process of sending their young European hero Ross McCormack to Doncaster on loan, Hearts were finalising arrangements to bring Neil McCann back to Tynecastle.

The 31-year-old Scottish internationalist's return did not bring the capital to a standstill but this was still a significant signing because it was yet another declaration of Hearts' intent.

It might finally be time to admit Vladimir Romanov is serious.

The Lithuanian banker wants that SPL championship. That much is clear but it is also obvious his club are the only real threat to Celtic, who remain a massive 17 points in front of Rangers.

Yet so far this January they've been less than bit-part players in the transfer market.

Right about now you would have expected Rangers to be engaged in frantic activity before the transfer window shuts but just the other day they were offloading instead of adding.

Alex McLeish has b ought in only one player, Kris Boyd, at a time when you would normally expect them to be tooling up for a fight to the finish and it's been left to Hearts to bring in reinforcements so that Celtic don't have it all their own way.

That suggests Hearts believe they could still wrench the title from Celtic's grasp but halfway through the third week of the transfer month it also says quite a bit about Rangers.

At the very least they're sticking to their strict financial plan which leaves little room for manoeuvre, yet their supporters were entitled to expect more than one modestly-priced addition to the squad.

McLeish has already warned that Boyd might be Rangers' lot for the time being. The manager is looking at other players - Hibs' Scott Brown and Kevin Thomson are never far from his thoughts - but no offers have been made.

It could be the Ibrox club are lining up one or both among others for the summer. But what about the yawning SPL chasm which exists between themselves and Celtic right now?

Rangers will insist it is not impossible to bridge that gap with the resources they have but it's probably closer to the truth to say they are looking at the Scottish Cup as their only hope of a trophy this season. They know that even though Celtic are far from the finished article they are not going to be overtaken by Rangers.

Hearts could still come back even though Celtic beat them on January 1 to move seven points in front - and because Romanov wants to give manager Graham Rix every chance of upset-ting the leaders, more players will follow McCann and the Lithuanian full-back NerijusBarasa into Tynecastle.

The 27-year-old signed on loan from FBK Kaunas but Lee Johnson has also joined Hearts. Despite failing to land Bosnian midfielder Mirsad Beslija, Rix is trying to land Benfica's Bruno Aguiar and Liverpool's Neil Mellor.

If he succeeds he'll have to make sure Hearts claim second place in the SPL which would bring a chance to qualify for the Champions League. That's the least Romanov will expect for his financial and perhaps growing emotional support and we know how ruthless he can be when he believes others are failing him.

Romanov said Hearts would strengthen when the transfer window opened and that appears to be what they are trying to do while others fumble around among the fluff at the bottom of their pockets for a few quid.

Even if he is prone to a few outrageous statements you have to give Romanov credit. So far this season he's managed to supplant - Hearts as Celtic's main rivals and that is worthy of respect.

While Rangers wait for summer to come and a new campaign to begin Celtic are making use of what little money they can spend.

Strachan has just signed Mark Wilson from Dunde United but is also looking at Kenny Miller as a summer signing and Hungarian internationalist Peter Halmosi.

And all the while Rangers window shop. Changed days in deed.

Taken from the Daily Record