It seems there's just no managing to please the 'dictator' of Tynecastle

* Latest sacking at Tynescastle leaves Rix - and everyone else - scratching their heads
* Departure of second manager this season once again highlights autocratic style of owner Romanov...
* ...such as buying unwanted players and picking the team himself

Key quote
"Mr Romanov probably is impulsive and probably has a ruthless streak, but I don't have a problem with that. I don't think my future will be decided on how we end the season." - Jim Duffy, before his own departure

Story in full
GRAHAM Rix could be forgiven today for wondering what a manager has to do to endear himself to Hearts' owner Vladimir Romanov.

Second in the Scottish Premier League, six points clear of the reigning champions, Hearts are hardly struggling.

On top of that, their head coach had allowed himself to be pushed around by his employer in a way few others would even contemplate. He was told who to buy, had the indignity of seeing one of his staff appointed over his head to become director of football and, if reports are to be believed, didn't even get to pick the team.

But Romanov is a difficult man to work for. It was not enough and, after just four months in charge, Rix yesterday became the second manager to be shown the door this season. Jim Duffy, the director of football, followed him through the revolving door shortly afterwards, after lasting little more than a month.

Hearts were topping the table when Romanov first swung the axe and dispensed with the services of Rix's predecessor, George Burley. Shortly afterwards, chief executive Phil Anderton was shown the door. Chairman George Foulkes promptly walked, calling the man he brought into the club a "dictator".

Rix and Duffy were under no illusions about the dangers of working for Romanov. Both were hired on contracts which ran only to the end of the season. Earlier this month, Duffy admitted that success might not save them.

"Mr Romanov probably is impulsive and probably has a ruthless streak, but I don't have a problem with that. I don't think my future will be decided on how we end the season," he said.

Romanov simply attracts controversy. His business activities have come under intense scrutiny amid accusations of tax evasion.

Eccentric might be the kindest way of describing him. He did his national service as a submariner and likes to write poetry. When doubts were raised about his ability to fund Hearts, he flew journalists out to Kaunas in Lithuania to show them his bank.

After getting rid of Burley and promising a big name, he hired Rix, a convicted sex offender whose two previous forays into management ended in failure.

It is not that Romanov is not enthusiastic. Far from it. It is his relentless enthusiasm which appears to be the problem. He likes to get involved in the team, as George Burley was first to find out. "Not ideal," was the way Burley described Romanov's intervention in the transfer market last summer which landed the manager with four players he did not want.

Romanov repeated the trick in the January transfer window, though that did not stop him complaining in his parting shot at Rix that some of those signings were not up to scratch. And then there were the rumours about Rix being told by Romanov who would be in the team.

The owner clearly believed it was Rix who let that one out of the bag, and said as much in the brief statement the club issued yesterday. The players demanded to meet him after that and ruffled feathers were smoothed back down, but for all the denials, the idea that Romanov would insist on picking his own team was one of the least surprising snippets of gossip to emerge from Tynecastle this season.

The other problem is that he has no patience. He has made it clear that he wants Hearts to be European champions, and soon. Within three years at the most.

"I want us to be at the stage where to do anything else, to come back without the trophy, would be shameful," he said in an interview last year.

But it is not all bad. While not quite in the Roman Abramovich league, Romanov is a seriously rich man, estimated to be worth £500 million. He has been investing in football clubs for a decade, first in the Lithuanian team FBK Kaunas and then in Belarus's MTZ-Ripo Minsk. And Hearts are still second in the league, with the serious prospect of breaking the Old Firm's duopoly.

Now Romanov faces the task of finding another head coach capable of taking the club up to the next level, while putting up with Romanov's autocratic rule.

Wanted: Subservient lackey. Must be prepared to shut up and do what he is told. Ability to jump through hoops desirable. Must win Scottish Premier League, European Cup and World Club Championship in first season. Short-term contract only. Good salary for right candidate. No time-wasters.

Taken from the Scotsman