Romanov's style mirrors Murray's Ibrox approach, reveals Ogilvie

TWENTY years ago this summer, Campbell Ogilvie found himself at the centre of the most seismic sea change Scottish football has ever experienced.

While the 1986 World Cup finals took place in Mexico, Ogilvie was the man doing the paperwork at Ibrox as Rangers embarked on an expansion process on and off the pitch under David Holmes and Graeme Souness which defied all the old certainties of the game in this country.

Fast forward two decades and, while the greatest sporting show on earth unfolds in Germany, Ogilvie finds himself at the centre of another revolution which intends to upset the established order of Scottish football.

When he accepted the invitation to join Hearts last December as general secretary and director of operations, Ogilvie would have been forgiven a certain degree of trepidation given the casualty rate of high-level employees since Vladimir Romanov took control of the club.

It is clear, however, that the highly respected administrator who spent 27 years with Rangers is relishing his role as the steadying influence of the unpredictable Romanov regime.

"Football is volatile by nature," says Ogilvie. "I could be gone from here next week, that's the way the game is, but this is a challenge I'm enjoying. At certain stages of your life you need a fresh challenge and this has certainly given me that.

"I was at Rangers for a long time but during the six weeks I was out of work after leaving Ibrox last year, I think I gained a different perspective on the game. I think I'm more relaxed now.

"I take people as I find them and I have a good working relationship with Vladimir and Roman Romanov. They let me get on with running the day-to-day business of the club. My main contact in the club is [chairman] Roman, who speaks perfect English, and I have regular dialogue with him. He certainly takes on board what you say."

While Ogilvie's contact with Romanov Snr is limited, he can relate the Lithuanian's single-minded approach to that of David Murray when he took command at Rangers in 1988.

"There are a lot of similarities," says Ogilvie. "When David Murray came into Ibrox, he did so as a self-made businessman taking control of the football club who wanted to see things done his way. The basic principle of working for Vladimir Romanov is the same, except I now report back to Lithuania rather than Edinburgh."

As a vice-president of the SFA, Ogilvie is naturally viewed as someone who can smooth the strained relationship which has developed between Hearts and the governing body under Romanov. It is a task for which he certainly has the relevant experience.

"If you look back at my time at Ibrox, there were plenty of scrapes between the club and the SFA, so there are similarities here with Hearts having had a few issues," he said. "Any football club will always fall out with the governing bodies from time to time and I will operate as I always have. If there is an issue between the SFA and Hearts, I will put it to one side.

"Those of us who work for the SFA do not wear our club hats when we are on SFA business. I can separate the two roles, I don't have a problem with that.

"I can point out the rules and the articles of association, but individuals will make their own mind up. It is a different culture here but I'm sure that, in time, the Lithuanians will understand more about the running of the game here. It's not a major issue for me."

Hearts' participation for the first time in the Champions League, on the other hand, is very much a big deal for Ogilvie. As one of those involved in drawing up the revamped European Cup 14 years ago, he is keen to see his new club take full advantage of the enormous benefits the tournament can now bring.

"We know there are two very tough qualifying rounds to get through, but for a club like Hearts to make it to the group stage would be massive financially," observed Ogilvie.

"Hearts' turnover is in the region of £7 million, compared to many other clubs in the Champions League whose turnover is around £50 million. A net figure of income from playing in the group stage would be around £6 million, so if you take that as percentage of turnover, that's pretty big from Hearts' point of view."

Taken from the Scotsman