A big-name boss would have 'held Hearts back'

HEARTS owner Vladimir Romanov has admitted he had to appoint Graham Rix because he believed a big-name manager would dismantle the team already assembled at Tynecastle.

Many Hearts supporters were disappointed to see Rix replace the axed George Burley last November after weeks of speculation linking a host of star names - including Bobby Robson and Nevio Scala - with the position.

However, Romanov, speaking in the BBC2 documentary 'Romanov: King of Hearts' to be screened tonight, insists a superstar manager could have destroyed the Tynecastle side's chances of success last season.

That decision has been vindicated to some extent by Hearts' charge into the Champions League qualifiers and lifting the Scottish Cup and the Lithuanian banker revealed: "If I had taken on a star manager again he would have rebuilt the team. He would have broken it up, brought in new stars and then put it all back together again. But the team had already been formed and it didn't need to be broken up, it just needed an experienced manager who could take them into Europe and beyond."

However, Romanov admitted that problems started to arise when Rix brought in a number of players he did not believe were of a high enough quality for Hearts.

The Englishman signed 11 players during the January transfer window, Lee Johnson, Chris Hackett and Mirsad Beslija among them and who have all struggled to win a first-team place. Romanov added: "Roman spoke to me and said that Rix liked a player and that he wasn't expensive so let's take him. I didn't like the player but if the coach wants him then I say 'yes'.

"Then we got the second player and I didn't like him either, but I still took him. I thought 'okay, I will let the coach have his way' make him feel more comfortable.

"But then a third one arrived and I thought 'why is he taking on all these players'?

"Some coaches, to feel they have an influence, bring in their own players and then when something goes wrong they put their own players in the team to sort of punish the others.

"It is a ploy. I was wondering if he was going to play the same game and that turned out to be the situation.

"So I told Rix to write down the characteristics of all of those players to prove that they would match up to the standards of Hearts. Three weeks passed and still he was too scared to put pen to paper. If he wasn't going to write it down, well, I was going to have to punish him, rebuke him."

Matters between the two men came to a head in February after it was revealed that Romanov and not Rix had picked the team to face Dundee United in an SPL match at Tannadice.

Romanov admit: "I gave him advice on how to utilise the players more rationally."

Romanov was unhappy that the information had been leaked to the press and the furore surrounding the situation ultimately lead to Rix's sacking.

However, the decision was delayed after a group of senior players demanded a meeting with the millionaire businessman.

The documentary follows Romanov and his son Roman to the meeting with club captain Steven Pressley, Paul Hartley, Neil McCann, Rudi Skacel and Roman Bednar at which Romanov was convinced not to fire the Englishman. However, that decision is now something he regrets, adding: "The players came to me and asked me to wait with the sacking. I told them I was prepared to do that, but I still think that it was a mistake."

Rix himself was filmed by the BBC cameras during his short reign at the club and, despite the breakdown in his relationship with the club owner, remained convinced that the situation could be resolved.

Shown in his office at the club's Riccarton Academy shortly after the Dundee United game, Rix said: "I was stressed to say the least. I had to make some tough decisions, my wife and I discussed it and decided it would probably have been easier to walk away from the situation.

"The tough bit was taking whatever stress and pressure came my way and it seeing it through.

"I want to be successful, not only for me, but for the fans, the players and for Hearts Football Club. Things had happened and they needed to be rectified, thankfully they had been."

The documentary, to be screened at 9pm, also reveals that Romanov is keen to move into the Brazilian market and, at the time of filming, was considering a move for a player with a price tag of seven million Brazilian dollars (around £2 million). Romanov's obsession and passion for football is perfectly illustrated when a huge filing cabinet is revealed in his office in Kaunas, containing folders with hundreds of player profiles inside. His file on Scotland has detailed profiles of more than 700 players, his Brazilian file runs to more than 7000 - and each one is personally graded from one to three by Romanov himself.

"All the players we have got have their own characteristics marked down. It tells us about their potential, their skill, how strong they are," he continues.

"When some player arrives from another country we compare the data. I pay people for making in-depth evaluations for every single player in every country."

Meanwghile, former Hearts chairman George Foulkes claims Romanov suspected the club's 1-1 draw against Celtic in October was fixed.

Foulkes said: "Romanov was convinced that the result had somehow been contrived and was suspicious.

"But it was just so fantastic and unbelievable. He was fuming about it because he believed the match had been fixed."

Taken from the Scotsman