Hearts’ season in the balance after Rix sacking

Rix, who was appointed less than five months ago, was axed because his record fell short of the controlling Romanov family's expectations. Duffy, just a month into his new job, followed him.

Valdas Ivanauskas, a close friend of club owner Vladimir Romanov, was installed as first-team coach to the end of the season. His assistant will be John McGlynn, a long-term member of the Hearts backroom staff.

Rix's sacking means the club are looking for their fifth head coach in just 17 months. Craig Levein left in October 2004, while John Robertson and George Burley were sacked in May and October of last year respectively.

The dismissal of Rix was a major surprise given that Roman Romanov, the club chairman and son of Vladimir, announced on Friday that his long-term future would not be decided until the end of the season.

Ivanauskas last night appealed to the Hearts players to remain focused and insisted that the club could still have a great season. Hearts are six points clear of Rangers in the battle to finish second behind Celtic in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague, which would secure a chance of Champions League football next season, and will face Hibernian in the Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-finals next weekend.

Ivanauskas said in a statement last night: "I hope the players understand the situation. I hope they will realise what a big chance they have this season. Everyone understands that we have some very important games coming up, including the Scottish Cup semi-final against Hibs.

"There are eight league games left and we should not lose sight of the fact that we could have a great season, one of the best in Hearts' history. There will be no huge changes but, like every coach, I do have some of my ideas and I will implement these."

Hearts' first-team squad have remained positive in the light of all the changes at the club this season. However, despite Ivanauskas' plea, the latest managerial sacking may prove to be the final straw for many of them, including the Scotland internationalists Craig Gordon, Paul Hartley and Andy Webster, who could easily find another club.

Rix was unavailable for comment on his sacking yesterday, but Duffy, who was officially appointed as Hearts' director of football in January, said: "We thought we were going places and heading in the right direction but clearly Romanov did not share our view. I was dismissed because Roman told me we came as a team and we would go out as a team. He was looking for perfection, which is impossible to achieve."

It is possible that Ivanauskas will be handed a long-term contract as coach, although club sources yesterday indicated that Levein, who was recently sacked by Leicester City, and Terry Butcher, the Motherwell coach, may also be candidates to take over in the summer. Nevio Scala, the former Parma manager, has already thrown his hat into the ring.

Graeme Souness, the former Rangers manager, could also be interested in the job. He was born and brought up in Edinburgh and is believed to be on Romanov's list of candidates.

Sources close to Souness suggest that he has already met Romanov twice and that another meeting could be held next week. A spokesman for Romanov last night denied any knowledge of this.

Rix had been in charge at Hearts for just 19 games and recorded nine wins, six draws and just four defeats. Despite that, Roman Romanov said the club board and his father had been disappointed by recent results and the standard of signings made by Rix in the January transfer window.

Significantly, not one of the 11 players signed during that period featured in the 1-1 draw against Rangers last Sunday; that group have made just 15 starts among them.

The Herald understands that Rix takes responsibility for bringing many of the players to Tynecastle, including Chris Hackett and Neil McCann, but will point to the fact that five of the players – Bruno Aguiar, Martin Petras, Ludek Straceny, José Gonçalves and Nerius Barasa – were all loan signings from FK Kaunas, the Lithuanian team which Romanov's bank sponsors.

There has been friction between Vladimir Romanov and Rix and this came to a head when the head coach told players that the multi-millionaire had tried to pick the team which played Dundee United at Tannadice two months ago.

That led to a player revolt and a meeting with Romanov where it was assumed he would not become involved in team selection again. However, there were suggestions that Rix had to convince Romanov that Julien Brellier should be included in the team that played Rangers on Sunday.

Rix also had to endure an SFA investigation, which has not been concluded, into whether he was a fit and proper person to work in Scottish football in light of his conviction for having sex with an underage girl in 1999, an offence for which he served a six-month prison sentence.

Derek Watson, the Hearts Supporters Trust chairman, said last night he was surprised by Rix's sacking. He said: "It's the timing more than anything else which concerns me. I don't think the fans will welcome this but the majority will accept it because, at the end of the day, Mr Romanov runs the club and owns 81% of the shares."

Gary Mackay, the former Hearts midfielder, called on the fans to back the players from now until the end of the season. "The decision on the management team has been taken and the club has to get on with things," he said.

Taken from the Herald