Romanovs to reveal plans for Hearts

Roman Romanov, the chairman and acting chief executive of Hearts, will today spell out his family's long-term financial commitment to the Tynecastle club.

After a season in which George Burley was sacked as manager, Phil Anderton was relieved of his duties as chief executive and former chairman George Foulkes resigned in protest, the Romanovs are keen to show such dramas were little more than teething troubles.

With the vital match against Rangers fast approaching, the Romanov clan are gathering in Edinburgh.

Vladimir Romanov, the club owner, is currently in Cannes and will arrive in Scotland on Sunday morning for the match. His son, Roman, will hold a press conference this afternoon where he will make clear their short-term aim is for Hearts to qualify for the Champions League while their long-term aim is for the club to lift the Scottish Premierleague title.

An indication of Vladimir Romanov's commitment is the fact they are in negotiations to buy a piece of land for £1.8m behind the main stand at Tyne-castle so they can rebuild it with more corporate facilities to allow the club to remain at their spiritual home.

Although Roman Romanov is acting chief executive, The Herald understands he will soon relinquish that title and do away with the post although he will remain chairman.

The appointment which has facilitated the expected change is that of Campbell Ogilvie, the former Rangers director/secretary, who took over the role of general secretary and operations director last December.

Ogilvie effectively runs the club on a day-to-day basis, reporting to Roman Romanov. Ogilvie is one of the most respected figures in Scottish football by virtue of his roles as vice-president of UEFA and the SFA, and chairman of the National Youth Initiative.

A Hearts source said: "Campbell is an outstanding football man and knows more about the game than anybody. Hearts don't need a chief executive any more as he is doing a great job. We also have the commercial, marketing and financial sides well taken care of so there is no need for a chief executive position."

Meanwhile, Rangers fans have cancelled their planned protest at Tynecastle in order to pay tribute to Jimmy Johnstone.

The Rangers Supporters' Assembly, who are angry at Hearts' decision to slash the club's ticket allocation from 3500 to 2100, were ready to demonstrate before the match.

However, assembly president Jim Templeton insists the occasion should be about remembering the Scotland and Celtic legend, who died on Monday.

Taken from the Herald