Just the start

VLADIMIR ROMANOV showed his insatiable appetite for success today when he broke off from celebrating Hearts' Champions League placing to declare: "I want the title."

The club's majority shareholder watched last night as Paul Hartley's 53rd-minute penalty secured victory over Aberdeen and sealed second place ahead of Rangers. But now Romanov has set his sights on Scottish football's ultimate prize, the SPL championship. He told the Evening News: "We want first place.

"We cannot run before we can walk and I expected our progress to be gradual, but we have come very far already.

"To win the title, it will be the same kind of task as it was for us to get into the Champions League place. I know it will be tough to become the champions of Scotland. But everything for us is connected to the stadium here, and the new stand that we want to build."

Hearts have yet to submit a planning application to replace Tynecastle's dilapidated main stand but Romanov is adamant that the club will reconstruct at their spiritual home, and intends to build offices and eventually a hotel on the site.

The Russian-born banker spent last night celebrating in Edinburgh after his compatriot, Valdas Ivanauskas, had guided Hearts to second place in the SPL and secured a coveted spot in the second qualifying round of the Champions League for next season.

The match was almost certainly Rudi Skacel's last at Tynecastle, with the player's future up in the air as revealed by the Evening News earlier this week despite Hearts agreeing to buy the midfielder from Marseille.

"Skacel is thinking about moving to England, to the Premiership," admitted Romanov. "His agent has asked us to terminate his contract to allow him to go to another club for £1million. I've spoken to Rudi and asked him why he wasn't playing as well as he had been and scoring goals and he said he was thinking about moving to England.

"I said to him to play well because it would be better for both sides as we would get money for him and he would get a good contract, but he said he was afraid of getting an injury.

"So I told him if you play and score goals, I'll let you go, but if you don't, I won't because it won't be good for us."

Ivanauskas was today trying to absorb the phenomenal achievement brought by last night's victory. He said: "It was the biggest day for the club and for the players, but also for me personally. This has been nine months of hard work for all the players at this club so we are delighted.

"The city of Edinburgh wants Champions League football and we can deliver that for them next season. We are looking to the next game against Rangers. I think I will enjoy this game, then it is the cup final which will be a great day for our supporters. If they want the cup, we will win the cup."

Ivanauskas was forced to watch the Aberdeen match from the directors' box due to a touchline ban imposed by the SFA, however afterwards he was creditably quick to pass a portion of the credit for Hearts' achievement to his predecessors.

"It wasn't only my work," continued the Lithuanian, "it was down to what George Burley did with the team and what Graham Rix did with the team. Also the rest of the coaching staff, from the kit man to the bus driver.

"It was difficult for me in the stand but this was a difficult day, a difficult game, especially in the first half. But we have clever and intelligent players and when I watched Paul Hartley take his penalty there was no question in my mind that he would score.

"I think the hand ball was worthy of a red card rather than a yellow, but that doesn't matter because the referee was very good. He was fair to both teams and Aberdeen made it awkward for us as they are a very mobile team."

Taken from the Scotsman