Leading from the front - but Ivanauskas' job is still on the line

IT SAYS everything about the way Hearts are run by the autocratic Vladimir Romanov that head coach Valdas Ivanauskas had to spend time at yesterday's post-match press conference assuring reporters that he, and he alone, had taken the decision to substitute Julien Brellier with Mirsad Beslija.

It is well known that the Frenchman is not exactly Romanov's favourite, but he is an absolute hero to the Tynecastle fans and the decision to remove the classy midfielder after an hour's play was greeted with a quite astonishing outburst of catcalls and boos from all around the ground. "Julien did well but we had a small problem because Falkirk had three players in the middle of the pitch who did well also," Ivanauskas explained later. "Julien was not ready for 90 minutes and it was my decision [to take him off]."

The boos returned at the final whistle, and everyone knows Mr Romanov doesn't like that sound. Could they mean trouble for Ivanauskas?

It might seem churlish to harp on about the perceived precariousness of his position on the afternoon when he took Hearts to the top of the Scottish Premierleague, but the man himself clearly knows he is under pressure. Not only did he again have to reassure people that honestly, really, truly, he is running the show and not having his strings pulled by the puppetmaster in Lithuania, but he was also spotted having a long chat with club captain Steven Pressley away from the dressing room after the match.

So does Ivanauskas now need yet another public show of support from Pressley? The club captain's vocal endorsement has been crucial in the past few months, especially in that extended period when Romanov refused to rule out looking for another manager. Despite having beaten Celtic last week and now topping the table, at least until the end of today's Dunfermline v Rangers match, Ivanauskas must surely realise that the next ten days are crucial for his continued existence in the Hearts' hot seat. For yesterday's poor performance against an admittedly resurgent Falkirk and the even more troubling showing in the 2-1 defeat against AEK Athens in midweek at Murrayfield has already sparked speculation about his future - and that after only four competitive matches in the new season.

Next weekend Hearts play Rangers at Ibrox and the following Wednesday they travel to Greece for the return leg against AEK Athens facing a mountainous task to qualify for the Champions League proper. Lose both games and Ivanauskas will surely hear His Master's Voice asking some fairly searching questions. And he will not need reminding that George Burley was removed when Hearts were still swatting aside all-comers last season.

What may also trouble Hearts fans is the way that the rigid 4-4-2 system deployed by Ivanauskas yesterday could not match Falkirk's adherence to a 3-5-2 formation which stopped much of the home side's forward flow.

One past criticism of Ivanauskas, who still struggles to cope with conversational English, is that he finds it difficult to think on his feet - and it is literally his feet, as he spends much of a match standing and exhorting his players. Asked why he did not change the fomation to counter Falkirk's blanket midfield, Ivanauskas betrayed a lot.

"The system was OK," he maintained. "We have our system and we can change it during the game, but is very important to get the first goal and after that I think the game would have been over. I can understand the fans' frustrations."

The Lithuanian also reached into the excuse file and pulled out the old chestnut about the players being tired after their midweek exertions.

"We wanted to win and we did try but it was not easy after Wednesday," he said. "It wasn't easy. If we had scored the first goal, it would have been OK, but time went on and our players got tired."

That sort of excuse is not going to cut any ice with Vladimir Romanov. Hearts may be top of the league this morning, but the Lithuanian wants more. He may well be querying whether Ivanauskas is the man to deliver it.