BOTH are loaded. They probably have more money than some small countries and they have outrageous ambitions for the clubs they have bought.

But there the similarities between Vladimir Romanov and Brooks Mileson end.

One is more Frank Sinatra while the other is Willie Nelson.

One rules his domain with an iron fist while the other is an extremely kind benefactor.

And one discards managers with the nonchalance of someone tossing away an old pair of boots while the other insists he'll always be a one-manager kind of owner.

Without doubt Romanov is the colder, more calculating and despite the half smile you sense there may be a darker side lurking just below the surface.

And while Romanov has been pictured wearing the skeleton head of some poor, long dead beast, Mileson is kind to animals and probably also children. Just the sort of owner you'd be happier to work for and with.

There may be plenty of smoke around him but certainly no mirrors, although it is fair to say that not a lot is quite as it seems with this man or his club.

The ponytail, jeans and boots don't scream immensely successful businessman yet he is exactly that and if you see him feeding one of the newborn or mucking out pens in his private animal sanctuary you wouldn't immediately think of him as someone who made his fortune in the fiercely-competitive insurance and financial business.

Quite simply he is a walking contradiction - even the fact he can walk after a serious childhood accident confounds medical science - yet there is no great mystery ab out what Mileson hopes to achieve with Gretna, who have hardly broken stride since their march up through football's ranks began four years ago.

They just keep steaming on and tomorrow they'll arrive at this season's final destination.

Hampden and the Cup Final is just around the bend and as always Mileson will take his place among the fans, hoping his manager Rowan Alexander can strike yet another blow for the game's Lilliputians. And it would be unwise to bet against him doing so.

You see, they may be living the dream down at Raydale Park but Alexander - according to Mileson the best manager in the game - and his team have always been wide awake to the possibilities and this tiny club bristles with big ideas.

Already Mileson's enthusiasm, belief and money have allowed Gretna to lay down an impressive infrastructure that puts the efforts of many of our much older clubs to shame.

Gretna are reaching out to their communities, spreading the word in schools and clubs far and near and although Mileson accepts his club will never command a massive support, he is trying to encourage as many locals as possible to look in on Raydale.

Beating Hearts and returning to the Borders with the Scottish Cup would surely help more subscribe to his vision but there are times when even he has to pinch himself. Promotion to Division One AND the Scottish Cup Final?

As Mileson, who helped sell Gretna's Cup tickets from a cabin-cum-office bolted on to an edge of Raydale, putting money in and taking change out of an old tin, might say: "This is just bloody daft."

However, while his laidback approach might suggest he is a soft-hearted philanthropist hell bent on giving all his money away - he's lost count of the number of clubs and causes he's helped - nothing could be further from the truth. This is a man with a plan.

Gretna are enjoying a meteoric rise but for Mileson a football club is like a pet. It isn't just for Christmas, it's for life and he sees Gretna as a long-term project. With Alexander, he is putting down foundations for the future.

He wants Gretna to survive and thrive long after he has gone but he seeks no personal gain.

Again this may be another fundamental difference between Mileson and Romanov and, of course, there is also a harsh difference between their two managers. Alexander wants to win the Cup for Mileson but Valdas Ivanauskas needs to win to keep his job.

Alexander and assistant manager David Irons turned up at Ibrox last Sunday to watch Hearts in their final SPL game but saw only Ivanauskas' second-choice side lose 2-0. Even so, the truth that this makeshift team could give Gretna a hiding wouldn't have been lost on Alexander.

Still, if he is as good as Mileson says, even Hearts' best players will have to be on their toes, although I wouldn't like to be in their shoes if they fail to win the Cup for Romanov. He doesn't take defeat well and more than Ivanauskas could pay with their jobs if they lose.

Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley may be everyone's favourite Jamb os but while they are the club's stars there is only one real Tsar and that's Romanov. If he tires of a manager or player then that person disappears out of Tynecastle.

Ask George Burley, Phil Anderton, Graham Rix or even Andy Webster. One minute he's an ever-present at the heart of the defence, the next he's a never present.

Romanov has a strange way of working and while Mileson would never dream of interfering in Alexander's team selections, the Lithuanian banker believes it is his right as owner to have his say.

He gives the impression he will allow his managers to manage but then, as another one bites the dust, talks of how inept they were.

Recently he said his driver in Lithuania could probably have done better than one or two who have tried to manage Hearts this season and he is forever telling the Tynecastle faithful they must be wary of the enemy at the door.

You keep expecting one of those Eastern European characters who were always popping up in Bond films to emerge from the dugout but so far that's not happened. However, it is clear Romanov is trying to take a scientific approach to Scottish football, oblivious to the fact that most of the people he'll bump into might think a Bunsen burner is a new make of football boot.

Romanov is one tough individual who has a vision of his own, only he wants delivery sooner rather than later and even though football is hardly an exact science those who are unable to provide logical reasons for setbacks, mistakes or failures know they'll be banished from Tynecastle.

It is a harsh environment that will probably become even harder as the seasons go by because you can never imagine Romanov resting on his laurels.

If the Cup is secured tomorrow then he'll expect at least the same next season and because Hearts have finished second in the SPL he'll want an improvement on that, too.

His staff dare not disappoint, yet despite the Romanov regime the chances are Mileson will get Gretna to where he wants them to be - a focal point of their community and a team to be reckoned with on the pitches of the SPL - long before Hearts satisfy their master.

It will be much more fun watching Mileson give that false impression that he and his boys are accidentally stumbling across success.

I doubt if there is a harder-working club out with the SPL right now and Gretna are worthy of their place in the sun tomorrow.

Taken from the Daily Record