SPL Season Review:Hearts

With his financial backing, new manager George Burley recruited a string of new players including Czech midfielder Rudi Skacel and Greek defender Takis Fyssas.

The impact was obvious right from day 1 as Hearts started faster than an express train, defeating everyone in site as they shot to the top of the SPL with Skacel lighting up the scoring charts.

Critics were saying it was another case of "a flash in the pan", and that their title aspirations would be shot down in flames when Rangers visited Tynecastle in late September.

Hearts passed the test by edging out a tense and scrappy affair 1-0 thanks to a goal from Roman Bednar. A few weeks later they went to Parkhead and gained a credible 1-1 draw to stay 3 points clear of Celtic.

Then on the morning of 22nd October 2005, sensational news broke from Edinburgh. George Burley had left the club due to "œmutual consent", announced just hours before their SPL clash against Dunfermline.

The fallout of this saw chairman George Foulkes and chief executive Phil Anderton resign. Despite suffering their first defeat of the season to city rivals Hibs, they kept up the pace with Celtic.

Shock was the predominant reaction when Graham Rix was announced as the new head coach on November 8th. Following his appointment the side only one 1 of their next 5 games as their campaign began to wobble.

They returned to winning ways with an emphatic 5-0 demolition of Falkirk on Boxing Day, setting up a New Years Day showdown against 1st placed Celtic at Tynecastle.

The game was marred with controversy, after Hearts took a 2 goal lead only to lose 3-2 in the final stages and Fyssas was sent off with the game poised at 2-1.

The side continued to progress steadily and the transfer window saw an a big influx of new players into the club, although there were doubts over whether Rix chose many of them.

Controversy struck again when it was alleged Romanov picked the team for the away clash at Dundee United on 7th February, with several players dropped, most noteably Andy Webster who then cancelled contract negioations.

Despite this, Rix remained till mid March, when with Rangers gaining ground heavily, he was sacked.

Romanov placed in temporary charge Valdus Ivankansus and the Lithuanian guided them to 2nd place, not without more controversy over playing Andy Webster and Julian Brellier.

They may have ended up significantly off the pace in the title race but 2005/06 certainly saw Hearts move in the right direction and they still have the Scottish Cup final to look forward to.

They have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in Scotland, splitting the Old Firm in the league for the first time since 1995. If stability and consistency can be achieved next season, there is no reason why they can't go one place better.

Sam Cullen
7 May 2006