Romanov demands a stadium to rival Hampden

HEARTS majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov has spoken of his dream of hosting future Scotland internationals.

The controversial Lithuanian has hinted at staying in charge at the club for the long haul, but he has ambitions of moving the club to a super stadium that would even be better than the venue for the World Cup final - Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

He said: "At the World Cup I saw the style of the stadiums in Berlin and Munich and that gave me an idea of how our stadium should look.

"Why can't we build a better stadium than the Olympic Stadium? It is my dream for Scotland internationals to be staged at Hearts' new stadium although I will need support from the Edinburgh City Council and the Scottish Football Association."

Romanov has ruled out any major movements into the transfer market this summer.

The club are gearing up for their UEFA Champions League qualification game against Bosnian champions Siroki Brijeg at Murrayfield tomorrow and the Hearts fans, who expected a clutch of new arrivals before the new season, will be disappointed.

However, Romanov has vowed to let manager Valdas Ivanauskas decide on the players he wants to bring in.

He said: "Valdas Ivanauskas will be responsible for that.

"There have been some changes [in how the club is run] and I don't think we will purchase many players this summer.

"I expect Valdas to bring through some younger players from the Academy."

Taken from the Scotsman