Full team ahead as Hearts go for glory

MARTIN McMILLAN February 01 2006

Hearts finished their January shopping with a full team of new signings after an unprecedented spree right up to the midnight deadline.

With only minutes remaining before the window closed, Vladimir Romanov, the club's Lithuanian owner, squeezed in the Czech internationalist, Martin Petras, and his compatriot, Ludek Straceny, to an already cosmopolitan crew.

Both signed for his Lithuanian team, FBK Kaunas, and were loaned to Hearts for an initial six-months thereby alleviating the financial burden.

In total, 11 new players have been acquired by Romanov for the head coach, Graham Rix, with Jim Duffy, the former Dundee manager, also recruited to assist in the increased training-ground demands. It eclipses the modest investment from the Old Firm and underlines the seriousness of Hearts' championship challenge, as they bid to claw back the eight-point gap conceded to Celtic.

Hearts had earlier unveiled four new players: José Gonçalves, the FC Thun defender who had been linked to Rangers, midfielders Mirsad Beslija and Bruno Aguiar, and Finland striker Juho Makela, all signing three-and-a-half year contracts.

They join Neil McCann, Nerijus Barasa, Lee Johnson and Chris Hackett and another late addition, the former Marseille goalkeeper, Rais M'Bolhi.

In total, Romanov is estimated to have spent in the region of £1.8m during the January transfer window.

M'Bolhi is a former team-mate of Fabien Barthez at Marseille but had been a free agent. The 19-year-old has signed an initial six-month deal with an option for an improved contract if he impresses Graham Rix, the Hearts head coach.

However, it was the signing of Petras which intrigued most. The right-sided defender has played six Champions League games for Sparta Prague and was the victim of the two-footed tackle by David Beckham during a Euro 2004 qualifier which led to his international team-mate Miroslav Karhan calling the England captain a "cry baby". He is joined at Tynecastle by Straceny, a 25-year-old striker, who has signed from FC Marila Pribram.

Straceny, who has also played for Sparta Prague, played for Viktoria Zizkov against Rangers in their Champions League qualifier in 2002.

"You can see we have real quality here and the boys want to play for us, there is no doubt about that. Mr Romanov deserves a pat on the back, he has stuck his neck out.

"We want to continue what we are doing this season and the fact they are all on long-term deals emphasises our ambition.

"We want to build a club that wants to stay up there. My predecessor [George Burley] said we needed strengthening and I certainly thought that as well.

"To get this quality, it shows where the club is moving and the ambition of the club. Vladimir has been 100% supportive of me and deserves a big pat on the back.

"He deserves credit because, although he does get criticism, he has put his money where his mouth is. When you get backing like this, it gives you a boost, but it does not mean I'm going to take my foot off the pedal." The Tynecastle side have also gained international clearance for Hackett who arrived last week from Oxford for a fee of £20,000.

Hearts also allowed Dennis Wyness to extend his loan with Inverness Caledonian Thistle until the end of the season. The striker, who scored against Rangers at the weekend, is set to sign a pre-contract agreement with the Highland club before joining on a two-year deal in the summer.

Aberdeen completed the signing of Feyenoord defender Ferne Snoyl on loan until the end of the season.

The 20-year-old left-back has struggled to hold down a place in the first-team at Feyenoord but is hoping to make a big impact at Pittodrie.

Manager Jimmy Calderwood said: "We are grateful to Feyenoord for letting him go. The lad has taken a drop in wages to come to Aberdeen which says an awful lot about him. He is quick, a good footballer and a winner who will get stuck in.

"He's a typical Dutch player in that he is comfortable on the ball and can operate at left-back or on the left side of midfield."

Gary Dempsey will remain at Pittodrie after Doncaster were forced to end their interest in the Irishman after failing to move players on. Calderwood said: "The decision was taken out of our hands, which was good as it would have been a hard one to make."

Kilmarnock completed the signing of midfielder Eric Skora from Preston. The 24-year-old Frenchman spent four months on loan at Rugby Park in 2004 and has signed a deal until the end of the season.

Defender Lindsay Wilson also completed his loan move from PSV Eindhoven. Manager Jim Jefferies said: "We are delighted that Eric has agreed to join us until the end of the season. He made a great contribution to the team in his previous spell at the club and is a great addition to the squad. He was a player we couldn't afford at the time but we have always kept tabs on his situation.

"Lindsay is here for some defensive cover on loan and, if he impresses, who knows what will happen at the end of the season."

It was a frustrating day for Dundee United manager Craig Brewster who missed out on his bid to bring in fresh faces to Tannadice. "I did make inquiries over a couple of players but both came to nothing. It would have been nice to have got one in, but I wasn't going to make any rash decisions just for the sake of getting someone."

Taken from the Herald