Romanov is set to keep faith with Hearts duo

VALDAS Ivanauskas and John McGlynn, the pair currently in temporary charge of Hearts, will remain at the club when a new director of football is appointed.

The Herald understands Vladimir Romanov, the club owner, is currently at his holiday home in Lithuania putting together plans for next season, which will involve them both.

Ivanauskas has been told he will remain in his role as coach with McGlynn alongside him but a new director of football will be appointed by the end of the month. The Lithuania-based multi-millionaire is not due in Scotland until the end of next week and no new appointment will be announced until after his return.

One senior Hearts source said: "Vladimir is keen to keep Valdas and John, but feels the club need someone with a bit more European experience to come in as director of football.

"We have a Champions League qualifying match in mid-July and we want to give the new director of football time to bring in two or three new players."

Romanov has being playing his cards close to his chest over his potential list of candidates. Yet even though he was absent for yesterday's launch of the new Hearts DVD: "Glorious! The Romanov Revolution", his comments on the two-hour film once again threw the gauntlet down to the Old Firm.

He made it clear that one of his main aims next season is to go further than Celtic in the Champions League, despite the fact Hearts still have to qualify for the group stages which the Parkhead club now have automatic entry to.

Romanov said: "I think we deserved to be champions this year but we are still in the Champions League and we will try to make sure we go further this year than Celtic.

"The fact we are in the Champions League was my happiest moment and also that we made sure that we brought the Scottish Cup back to the fans in Edinburgh.

"Symbolically we brought it from Glasgow, which is great. We were fighting for this cup in a stadium in Glasgow, so those are probably the best moments of this season."

Meanwhile Steven Pressley, the Hearts captain, felt that sacking George Burley after a great start to the season had undermined their title bid.

Pressley said: "We had a great rapport with him, a great belief in his methods and we were bitterly disappointed to see him go because we were on the crest of something very special with him."

Taken from the Herald