Rix told he cannot pick Hearts team

Steven Pressley, the Heart of Midlothian captain, may be asked to lead a players' revolt today after the club's autocratic majority shareholder, Vladimir Romanov, assumed control of team selection and plunged Tynecastle into turmoil yet again.

Graham Rix, the first team coach, told his squad that he was no longer picking the side when they assembled at their Riccarton training complex before last night's league encounter with Dundee United at Tannadice.

Romanov sacked Rix's predecessor, George Burley, when Hearts led the Scottish Premier League in October, and once again his interference has jeopardised the team's impressive momentum. After a jittery period during Rix's opening games in charge, when they were overhauled by Celtic, Hearts have begun to perform stylishly once more.

They demolished Hibernian 4-1 in the Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle 10 days ago and followed that with an emphatic 3-0 home victory over Aberdeen at the weekend to take their place in the quarter-finals of the Tennent's Scottish Cup, for which they are now favourites after Celtic and Rangers were knocked out.

The acquisition of no fewer than 11 players during the January transfer window appeared to signal Romanov's determination to sustain a credible challenge in both league and cup. Before the Aberdeen game Rix said that he would feed the newcomers into the side carefully to allow them time to acclimatise.

However, Tynecastle sources last night indicated that when Rudi Skacel, Hearts' top scorer, and the established left-back, Takis Fyssas, turned up at the ground on Saturday, they were told to go home and, if asked, say they had flu in order to accommodate two of the new players, Mirjad Beslija and Jose Concalves.

The plot thickened, though, when Fyssas and Skacel were back in last night's line-up at Tannadice. In addition Andy Webster, the Scotland central defender, has pulled out of contract talks with the club - his current deal expires in June 2007 - and will not renew them under any circumstances.

Rix was, until last week, adamant that he was responsible for team selection. Moreover, it seemed highly unlikely that Jim Duffy, former manager of Dundee and a close friend and confidant of Rix, would agree to join the coaching staff, as he did two weeks ago, if Romanov had been meddling unduly.

However, the acquisition of the equivalent of a full team of players was the cue for a shift in the balance of power. Romanov seems intent on making his investment pay.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk