Romanov targets two new signings in August

HEARTS owner Vladimir Romanov has vowed to bring in replacements for Andy Webster and Rudi Skacel before the transfer window closes at the end of the August.

Skacel, who was the club's leading league scorer last season with 16 goals, completed a £1.6million move to Southampton over the weekend where he will be reunited with former Hearts manager George Burley.

Webster, who has a year remaining on his contract at Hearts, has given notice of his intention to leave Tynecastle after his agent fell out with Romanov. The centre-half was wanted by Wigan Athletic but no deal has so far been struck. Webster has also been heavily linked with a move to the continent.

Romanov, who signed 11 new players for Hearts during the January transfer window, said last week there would be far fewer signings this season. While he expects the coaches to rely more on home-produced youngsters he intends to replace Skacel and Webster with players of an even higher standard.

Romanov said: "It's an eternal process in a way but to be concrete we need to fill before 1 September the positions of Skacel and Webster at which point I can say that the basic shape will be complete.

"After that we should keep going and getting better and better. For me the immediate task is to find the players a level higher than Skacel and Webster."

Romanov is also confident the managerial upheaval of last season will not be repeated this year.

Burley and Graham Rix left the Tynecastle club last season before Valdas Ivanauskas completed the campaign by claiming a Champions League spot and the Tennent's Scottish Cup.

The former Kaunas coach has now been handed the role of head coach on a permanent basis, working alongside sporting director Eduard Malofeev. However, Romanov still regrets bringing in Burley and Rix last season.

He told Scotland on Sunday: "The best moment was when Burley left the club, but the worst moment was when Rix came in."

Romanov added: "I very much hope that this nightmare that we had last season will not be repeated. But that doesn't mean I will keep silent if I am not happy with something. Valdas has done good practical work and he is willing to work in co-operation with other coaches.

"Now I have a sporting director, I have the person who works with the scouts, and I have a consultant in Eduard Malofeev who is very experienced. Together they make a team which very much satisfies me. I wish I had put it together earlier."

Romanov also expressed reservations about Hearts playing their European games at Murrayfield, describing the experience as "very uncomfortable". He said it has inspired him to speed up his plans to rebuild Tynecastle.

"As it [Murrayfield] is very uncomfortable, I really hope we can finish the redevelopment [of Tynecastle] as soon as possible."

Taken from the Scotsman