VLAD IS MAKING ALL RIGHT NOISES AT JAMBOS

VLADIMIR ROMANOV doesn't just call the tune at Hearts he writes the songs as well.

And not content with the operatic chorus bearing his name that resounded around Tynecastle last season the Jambos owner has come up with a new ditty.

It's not much worse than last weekend's winner of the Eurovision Song Contest - "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Finnish headbangers Lordi.

And you'll find the latest chant - performed by the man himself - on Glorious: The Romanov Revolution, the Hearts DVD launched next Sunday that tells the story of a sensational season.

Having heard a live rendition I have to confess "Jambos" was the only lyric I recognised.

Unless you are fluent in Lithuanian you might also struggle to get the full effect.

But what struck me as I listened to SingalongaVlad doing his stuff in the Tynecastle boardroom, without the aid of a karaoke microphone, was how much he's taken this club (pardon the pun) to heart.

Of course there is the appeal to his ego of owning a football team in Scotland and attempting to smash the Old Firm monopoly.

And UKIO - Romanov's Baltic bank whose name is emblazoned across the Hearts jerseys -now enjoys a considerably higher profile in one of Europe's leading financial centres.

There is, as well, his ongoing battle against what he sees as the antiquated Scottish football system that fires him up.

But there seems to be more to it for Vlad than just business and bravado. Amid all the hirings and firings, ranting and raving, Romanov (below) appears to have fallen in love with the capital club.

What the eagerly-awaited Hearts video can't be expected to explain is what happens next.

The best guide you'll get is listening to the noises emerging from the dressing-room.

Star skipper Steven Pressley and SPL Player of the Season Paul Hartley both take on the guise of kids in a sweetie shop when talking about the club's prospects for next season.

Both confidently expect Romanov to embark on a summer spending spree that will allow realistic expectations of qualifying for the Champions League before any crazy thoughts of getting further.

The crucial difference in this transfer window compared to the deals done during the last chance in January has to be the swapping of quantity for quality.

At the midway point in the season Hearts shipped in a whole team's worth of new players.

Eleven were paraded at Tynecastle in January including record signing Mirsad Beslija. For someone whose price tag wasn't a kick in the Bosnians off £1 million, and who's pulling down around £10,000 a week, Hearts fans might have expected a good deal more of him than the fleeting glimpses they've been given.

In fact, of all the new arrivals only Portuguese midfielder Bruno Aguiar has made any impact. Senegal stopper Ibrahim Tall broke into the team in the last month of the campaign but was signed last summer.

The most valuable recruits were all added a year ago.

Departing Rudi Skacel's spectacular scoring laid the foundations for success.

The return after injury of experienced Edgaras Jankauskas in February gave the team a timely lift. And left-back Takis Fyssas was a massive influence from start to finish.

Hearts need more signings of that quality if they are to take another significant step forward.

What can't be ignored though by the seldom-smiling Valdas Ivanauskas or whoever else takes over the running of the team is the importance of Hearts' home-grown backbone.

While just about everything around it changed there was a central Scottish core to the team that was constant and consistent.

From Craig Gordon in goal through defensive trio Robbie Neilson, Pressley and Andy Webster, and further forward to midfield playmaker Paul Hartley, the side had a strong spine. Four are Scotland regulars with Neilson not far from Walter Smith's thoughts either.

As managers came and went that famous five did more than most to drag Hearts across the finishing line.

Webster will leave Gorgie in the next few weeks after his refusal to put pen to a new contract but the other four will continue to play a big part in the next phase of the Romanov rollercoaster ride. New targets will be set. Hearts will want to sustain their title challenge rather than drift off the pace.

And they would love to join automatic qualifiers Celtic in the group stages of the Champions League.

Realising those ambitions would certainly put a song in the heart of Romanov.

Taken from the Sunday Mail