Hearts:2nd Place Sealed!

Since then, 11 years have passed and the SPL began to look a formality before the season ever began. With talk of Rangers and Celtic moving south, it wasn’t looking promising for Scotland’s finest.

The wait is over, the monopoly has been broken, to a certain extent. Celtic may still have a hotel on Mayfair but at least Rangers have been deposed from Park Lane. When they still had Francis Jeffers upfront, fans could have been mistaken for thinking they were stuck at Old Kent Road

The season at Tynecastle has been more akin to a game of Cluedo as Mr Romanov has been jumping from room to room, unsuspecting manager having no idea what that candlestick could be used for.

Last night’s results saw Hearts confirmed as runners up in the SPL, giving them a shot at Champions League qualification for 2006/07. A tense affair against Aberdeen was settled by a 2nd half penalty by the typically excellent Paul Hartley.

It is a credit to the players assembled at Tynecastle that they have shrugged off the off the field turmoil and managed to clinch this potentially lucrative lifeline.

Outside Tynecastle, many fans across the country must have viewed Vladmir Romanov’s actions with bewilderment and no doubt many derisory comments have been exchanged. Perhaps the guy deserves to be cut some slack.

True he hasn’t always acted in a way which seems logical to us British football fans, but he is an outsider still coming to terms with the inner workings of a Scottish football club. It must be remembered how precarious Hearts position was when he joined, without him, the future would have been very bleak.

But today, the focus should be on the players, not Romanov or whoever has been in the dug out. Individuals such as Craig Gordon, Robbie Neilson, Steven Pressley and of course Paul Hartley, as mentioned earlier, have all had fantastic seasons and are a big part of the reason Hearts have become a force to be reckoned with in the SPL.

The season isn’t over for Hearts yet. There is the small matter of the Scottish Cup final on May 13th, that would be a perfect way to cap a great season.

Sam Cullen
3rd May 2006