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Daily dealings with two of a kind MARK WILSON June 30 2006 AFTER running the administration of Vladimir Romanov's Tynecastle revolution for six months, Campbell Ogilvie has been left with a sense of deja vu. The Tynecastle general secretary and operations director was already a decade into a 27-year employment by Rangers when David Murray swept into Ibrox and stamped his personality on the club. The similarities between the two men, Ogilvie believes, extend way beyond the weight of their bank balances. He looked ahead yesterday to a new season, when, as a Scottish Football Association board member, he might be advising Romanov to temper his outbursts against authority. He insisted, however, that working for the Lithuanian had not been the nerve-shredding experience many might expect and drew comparison with the Rangers chairman. "There are a lot of similarities," said Ogilvie. "When David Murray came into Ibrox, he was a self-made businessman who took control of the football club and wanted to see things done his way. "At that time at Ibrox, I was very much allowed to get on with the day-to-day running, and the finance and commercial departments would report back to David in Edinburgh. Now, it's just that the finance and commercial departments report back to Lithuania. "The two men have different personalities, obviously, but the basic principles are the same. I always take people as I find them and have a good relationship with the Romanovs. They let me get on with things." Ogilvie again denied there was any bad blood between him and Murray or Martin Bain, the Ibrox chief executive, after his influence at Rangers was reduced to such an extent that he was spending "70% or 80%" of his time on SFA business. His reluctant departure from Ibrox last September has, however, left him philosophical about the perils of employment in Romanov's merry-go-round of arrivals and departures. "I was at Ibrox 27 years and ended up leaving there," he said. "In my six weeks out of work, I took a different perspective and I think I'm more relaxed now. People talk about it being volatile here but that's part of the challenge. I could be gone next week, that's the way football is. "At certain times in your life you need a new challenge and that's certainly what this role has given me. The ambitions here are massive." Ogilvie denied he felt any unease about the frequency with which Hearts have tended to cross the SFA's disciplinary radar. The change of rules to include "shadow directors" in matters of disrepute will bring Romanov into the firing line if he continues his outspoken ways in the new season. "If there is an issue between the SFA and Hearts, then I'll put it to one side," said Ogilvie, a vice-president of the SFA and member of several committees. "There were numerous issues and challenges at Ibrox that people might have forgotten about now. Maybe I'd rather some things weren't said at the time, but that's the nature of the business. Football is an emotive game and plenty other clubs will say things over a season." But can he persuade Romanov to be at least a touch more circumspect? "One of my roles at the club is certainly to highlight the rules, but it's up to the individuals thereafter," said Ogilvie. "There is a change of culture, I think. Even when Dick Advocaat and the Dutch came into Ibrox, they had set ideas about how things should be done, because that's the way it was in Holland." On the field, Hearts have a debut chance to reach the Champions League, starting with a qualifying tie against either Belarussian outfit Shakhtyor Soligorsk or Siroki Brijeg of Bosnia. As one of the administrators who brought the tournament into existence, Ogilvie's eyes light up at the possible benefits. "We're under no misapprehension about the task, because there are two very difficult qualifying rounds to get through," he said. "A club like Hearts has a turnover of £7m or £8m where some others in the Champions League have £50m plus. "If you think a net figure for the Champions League might be £6m, then you can see what percentage that is of the turnover of a club like Hearts. It would be massive in financial terms."  Taken from the Herald |
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