Romanov rules out signing spree

HEARTS fans anticipating a host of new signings are likely to be disappointed after Vladimir Romanov indicated yesterday that he expects the club to place greater emphasis on youth this season.

New head coach Valdas Ivanauskas is unlikely to have the funds available to his predecessors and has been told to make use of young talent coming through the training academy as he bids to qualify for the Champions League. Romanov, who axed three Hearts managers in less than a year, will review Ivanauskas' position halfway through the season.

Following last season's transfer splurge - Hearts signed 11 new players in the January window alone - Romanov looks set to rein in his spending.

The Tynecastle side are the only SPL team not to have recruited this summer and though they remain in talks with Greek defender Christos Karapidis and Chilean striker Mauricio Pinilla, their owner appears more concerned with bringing through young players.

In an interview with STV, he also writes off the challenge of the Old Firm, claims he will take a less hands-on role in transfer dealings and says Hearts are not yet ready for the Champions League.

They begin their bid to reach the group stage tomorrow when they take on Siroki Brijeg of Bosnia in the first leg of the second qualifying round at Murrayfield. The Gorgie club, who have sold over 20,000 tickets for the tie, will be without Andy Webster and Rudi Skacel, key players from last season who will soon leave. Their places are likely to be taken by Christophe Berra and Andrew Driver, home-produced youngsters whose inclusion fits in with Romanov's new philosophy.

"I want to see young players in the team and for Hearts to have a unique style of football," Romanov said. "A successful season for me will be seeing the management team working together. I want them not only to use experienced players, but also use young players. This may be a risk, but that's what I'd like to see happen.

"Scottish football needs to change its style of football for the game to progress in Scotland. I don't think there will be much progress from Celtic or Rangers this season because they cannot change their style so quickly - they have a big history over their playing style. I think more and more young players will play more often for Hearts... so I think we'll play at the same level of Rangers and Celtic. We've already changed the style of football at Hearts. Our style is more and more attacking."

Ivanauskas will be assisted by sporting director Eduard Malofeev, and Romanov expects the pair to take charge of signings. Asked if he himself would play a key role in the recruitment of players, Romanov replied: "No, no. Ivanauskas and Malofeev will be responsible for that. But I don't think we will purchase many players this season. I expect Malofeev and Ivanauskas to promote more young players from the academy to the first team. If you spend a lot of money on players it means your progress is going down. You cannot achieve success simply by spending money - you need to use other resources."

Ivanauskas, who as interim coach guided Hearts to Scottish Cup success and second place in the SPL last season, will have no time to rest on his laurels. Asked if the coach would keep his job even if Hearts do not qualify for the Champions League, Romanov replied: "I want to see progress in the style of football Hearts play. I'm not just looking for results. I will assess the team's performances after half a season before making any decisions."

On the subject of the Champions League, he added: "I don't think we are ready yet for the Champions League. We need time for the players to build their fitness... that's the job of Mr Malofeev - to prepare the team for the Champions League. I think we need a further month to fully prepare for the Champions League. Our target is to qualify for the Champions League and I think we can achieve this."

Having enjoyed the World Cup, Romanov added that he was inspired to build a new stadium for Hearts in the mould of some of the grounds used in Germany.

"During the World Cup I saw several stadiums - Berlin, Munich, and Dortmund," Romanov said. "That has given me an idea of how Hearts' new stadium should look. Why can't we build a better stadium than the Olympic stadium? If you are building a new stadium it should be better than all other stadiums. My dream is for Scotland internationals to be staged at Hearts' new stadium but I cannot do this alone. I need support from Edinburgh City Council and the Scottish Football Association."

Taken from the Scotsman