Deans lends support to Romanov

AFTER a day of condemnation, Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov finally found a couple of supporters yesterday when former chairman Leslie Deans and former captain and manager Jim Jefferies both declared that the Lithuanian businessman has a right to do whatever he sees fit at the Tynecastle club.

As the dust started to settle on the sudden sacking of Hearts manager Graham Rix, Deans remained unwavering in his support of the Lithuanian. Deans also supported Romanov's decision last October to part company with Rix's predecessor George Burley after the former Ipswich coach had led Hearts to the top of the SPL.

"An awful lot of people would like to have Vladimir Romanov in charge at their club," claimed Deans, who sold his shares to Romanov last year to help the Lithuanian take his shareholding at Hearts to 81 per cent.

"I sympathise with anyone who loses their job and I liked Graham, but I respect the right of Vladimir to make that decision.

"The board have offered a detailed explanation regarding the circumstances so I won't be demanding an explanation, it would be improper and I have no right.

"Everyone in football knows results are paramount and throughout time managers have fallen because of results. So it shouldn't surprise anybody.

"What is important to remember is that without Vladimir Romanov, Hearts would no longer be at Tynecastle and the stadium would be a building site.

"Players like Rudi Skacel and Edgaras Jankauskas would never have come to Hearts and players like Craig Gordon, Paul Hartley and Andy Webster would have been sold, probably to the Old Firm.

"Everyone knows the previous regime had Hearts in the gutter, there was no possibility of a resurgence and I've not forgotten that."

Kilmarnock manager Jefferies is another who insists Romanov is entitled to run the Tynecastle club any way he wants, even if it means a regular turnover of managers.

"Mr Romanov saved the club, so he's entitled to go about running it the way he sees fit," said Jefferies.

"Whichever way he goes about it - whether he has to go through three or four managers or whatever - only time will tell if he will be successful.

"If it doesn't work, you can look to criticise him but not right now.

"You have to feel sorry for Graham, he came in and drew a couple of games and that was not acceptable to Mr Romanov.

"But anybody who takes the job now will know what they are going into.

"I think he will give you what it takes to do the job, but he wants the reward. The performances have to be of a high standard or they won't last long.

"If you feel you can handle that situation, then good, but, if you think it's unfair that your owner is wanting instant success, then don't take the job. It will be hard for any manager but the job of manager is hard."

Jefferies insists Romanov will have no problem filling the vacancy. "I think there will be a lot of people interested in the job. Hearts are a fantastic club with a great support and an owner who wants success and there is nothing wrong with that."

However, Jefferies refused to even contemplate a return to the club with which he won the Scottish Cup in 1998.

He said: "I'm not interested in being linked with Hearts and I will if I make a comment about it. I'm totally focused on Kilmarnock and finishing as high up the league as possible."

Romanov senior left the talking to his son when Rix's departure was announced. But father was flushed out yesterday, claiming he should have sacked Rix much earlier.

"It was my mistake to wait too long for Rix to produce better results," Romanov is reported to have said. "The results had not been satisfying the board for some time and the loss of so many points in the league was disappointing.

"I even suggested we say goodbye to him as head coach earlier, but the guys in the team insisted in letting him stay and I followed their wishes.

"However, I feel I've made a mistake by not acting sooner as we lost 24 points in the league since he took charge, as well as precious time.

"If we had stuck by him we would have put ourselves in danger of losing our second place position and failing to qualify for the Champions League.

"As I didn't see any signs of progress or signs of the club going forward, we couldn't wait any longer before taking action."

Taken from the Scotsman