Hearts entangled by puppet jibe

Whatever performance Hearts give against Rangers in Scotland's match of the day at Ibrox this afternoon, the Tynecastle side will do well to achieve such disruptive form as their hierarchy managed yesterday. Lee Johnson - an ephemeral figure during his brief playing career as a midfielder at the club - triggered the fun with tabloid claims that Valdas Ivanauskas, the Hearts coach, was "a puppet" who did the bidding of the owner Vladimir Romanov.

Ivanauskas, inevitably asked about the veracity of these persistent allegations, said: "No. I am not a puppet. Every decision is mine. I pick the team."

He added, generously: "For me, this is news. Lee Johnson was very professional - he loved and lived for football."

Unfortunately for Ivanauskas' dignified response, Romanov, the Hearts owner, later issued another of his now familiar - and, it must be said, entertaining - rants. "It is good when the enemies and the jealous call my subordinates puppets. It would be bad if some day I become the puppet in the hands of my own subordinates. When I was on duty on the nuclear submarine K19, I was proud of being a puppet in the hands of my commander. I am still proud of it.

"Before every match against the Glasgow teams, the Glasgow media puppets will attempt to disgrace our club because of their impotence. Because of this we enjoy every victory against them even more.

"I don't know what kind of experiment [former coach] Graham Rix had in mind when taking Lee Johnson on. He did not manage to explain it. As a footballer he has no value. This was proved by the fact nobody was prepared to pay a penny for him and we were even asked to pay money to get rid of him."

Whoever picked today's Hearts squad, Ivanauskas said that Paul Hartley would make his return after injury. Rangers, meanwhile, had their own share of headlines this week, principally when last season's top scorer, Kris Boyd, vented his frustration at not having started this season in a side which makes chances and misses them with almost equal frequency.

Yesterday, though, Boyd observed the party line on the club's website. "I knew I would have to be patient when I was suspended for the first game and that I might have to bide my time. The boys who have been in the side have done well, so I've no complaints."

The Ibrox manager, Paul Le Guen, said: "I understand how Boyd feels - I was a player, too - but the manager picks the team."

For the second successive week, a youngster on loan from Manchester United may play. Phil Bardsley, a defender who followed Lee Martin up the M6, was named in today's squad. "It should be a great chance for me to show what I can do," he said. Celtic travel to Inverness to meet Caley Thistle tomorrow. The Parkhead manager, Gordon Strachan - asked the now routine question about Stilian Petrov's future - said: "I had a conversation with Martin O'Neill about Stilian Petrov and things haven't changed one iota."

Elsewhere, St Mirren's bright start will be tested at home in the lunchtime kick-off against Aberdeen, Dundee United meet Dunfermline at Tannadice, Kilmarnock face an awkward trip to Falkirk and Hibs face bottom club Motherwell at Easter Road.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk