Rix hangs on despite Hearts' trouble

Six days ago it looked a decent bet that Graham Rix would be the next SPL coach to be out of a job, following news from Tynecastle that the club's principal shareholder, Vladimir Romanov, had taken over team selection.

However, the week ended with Rix still in position - although Hearts shed five from six points and all but ended their interest in the Scottish title race - while Rangers' fans heard that Alex McLeish would leave at the end of the season and Paul Lambert parted company with Livingston.

Rix also confirmed that he had picked the team for Saturday's home meeting with Aberdeen, although perhaps he wished Romanov had carried the can for the 2-0 defeat inflicted when Steven Pressley scored an own goal and Chris Clark's shot was wickedly deflected for the second.

"I'm afraid I can't use that as an excuse," Rix said. "That was our worst performance since I came here. We had maybe seven players off the pace and you just can't afford that."

Pressley, the Hearts captain, and four other players met Romanov after the game and the club issued a statement which read: "We have found a solution to the issues raised this week. We feel the result will be positive for the club - all other matters will be kept within the club."

At Livingston, Lambert resigned after a goalkeeping blunder by Ludovic Roy gifted Dunfermline a 1-0 win which leaves them marooned at the foot of the table. Hibs' goalless draw at Falkirk put them two points in front of Rangers but Kilmarnock missed an opportunity to overtake the Ibrox side when they drew 3-3 at Inverness Caley Thistle where Steven Naismith put them ahead only for Denis Wyness and Craig Dargo to give the Highlanders the lead. Two Gary Wales goals seemed to have secured the points for Killie, but David Proctor levelled with five minutes left.

Two strikes by Richie Foran earned Motherwell a timely home win over Dundee United.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk