ROMAN EMPIRE SAVED JAMBOS

PAUL HARTLEY will be sitting beside me today in the Setanta Sports studio. It goes without saying that Hearts fans would prefer him to be out on the pitch squaring up to Celtic.

And their big concern at the moment is that minus their Scotland midfielder -the Tynecastle team is seriously short of spark in attack.

Easy solution though, isn't there?

Minted owner Vladimir Romanov throws some money at the problem and brings in a new playmaker as cover for the inspirational Hartley.

I mean, the Lithuanian has already bankrolled a trio of summer signings in defender Hristos Karipidis, Portuguese utility player Tiago Costa and Chilean striker Mauricio Pinilla.

So why not splash out again and buy someone who can slot into the Hartley role?

With Rudi Skacel now history, is that not the obvious missing link?

But wait a minute. Let's think about this.

Should we really expect the Baltic banker to produce his wallet once again and flash the cash?

Remember, it's only 18 months ago that the Hearts board were backing the sale of Tynecastle to Cala Homes.

I don't think it's too ridiculous to say that, with a move to Murrayfield imminent and little control over the ongoing business, the club was on the road to extinction.

It was Romanov who brought the Jambos back from the brink. And it's an interesting exercise to try to calculate how much he's spent on taking the Jambos from nightmare scenario to Champions League dream.

I'm sure some people would take issue with this but I reckon Vlad, in conjunction with his Lithuanian Ukio banking group, has invested a massive £35million so far in resuscitating Hearts.

First there was the £4m he paid to Chris Robinson, Leslie Deans and other shareholders so he could claim 85 per cent of the club's shareholding.

Then he repaid the £14m debt owing to the Bank of Scotland - the bank aren't owed a penny anymore - and dealt with a £2m interest payment as well.

Next he tackled the money owing to SMG.

It was the media group's ill-fated £8m investment in Hearts in 1999 that so nearly signalled the end for the club's historic home.

Most of the money was given as a loan and former chairman and chief executive Robinson authorised its spending.

Romanov negotiated a discount on the repayment but still had to come up with the best part of £4m to bring to an end that unhappy chapter.

On top of that he's signed enough players to fill a few teams-erring more on the side of quantity than quality-and raised the wage bill through the roof.

The best moves he's made are the new deals done with Scotland trio Hartley, Craig Gordon and Steven Pressley that will ensure they're a big part of the ongoing Hearts success story.

But those contracts don't come cheap and it's such financial commitments that have taken Romanov's spectacular spending spree to approaching the £35m mark.

So when Jambos fans start screaming for another burst of business in the transfer market it's worth reflecting for a moment on the considerable outlay already.

That's the voice of logic and reason, of course.

Come the 2pm kick-off today all that matters to the home support is the relative merits of the two teams.

And Hearts supporters will be concerned that, despite their team's winning start in the SPL against Dunfermline and advance to the third Champions League qualifying round, they're still a bit short of vital spark.

It's good to see holding midfielder Julien Brellier back where he belongs after being left out of the starting line-up at the tail end of last season but it's alongside him that Hearts have a big problem.

Bruno Aguiar (below) is a tidy enough player but he's no substitute for Hartley.

The Portuguese midfielder doesn't seem to possess either the killer pass to open up a defence or the ability to make runs beyond the strike pair.

That limits the attacking options through the middle and there's a predictability about the way Hearts channel the ball to Deveidas Cesnauskasand Neil McCann in the hope they can get some joy from the wide areas.

What the home team do have of course is the best defence in the SPL.

I can't see Gordon, Pressley, Robbie Neilson, Takis Fyssas and Christophe Berra losing too many goals.

And they're big and physical in attack. Gary Caldwell and Stephen McManus, at the back for Celtic, might get the sort of test today they didn't get from Kilmarnock last weekend. But it's Hearts'lack of midfield variety and virtuosity that could find them out. The fear is that, without. Hartley, there's no cut and thrust about the side.

Think twice, though, before you blame the money man. Just feel glad Romanov has spent a small fortune already.

Taken from the Sunday Mail