Romanov's rebels draw short straw

HEARTS1
Velicka 12

DUNFERMLINE1
Hamilton 48

"DOES that mean Hearts are losing all their players?" asked Dunfermline striker Jim Hamilton. It was a bit of mischief-making almost as cutting as the equaliser he handled into Craig Gordon's goal to prompt the question.

The former Hearts employee won't have been the only one pondering that point as he left the ground following this draw, which saw Hearts slip seven points behind Celtic. Around 17,000 Hearts fans, and probably a few players, will have shared in his curiosity, following reports that the club owner, Vladimir Romanov, had threatened to sell the entire team to "Kilmarnock or whoever would have them" should they fail to beat the East End Park side.

So, had he heard from Jim Jefferies yet, Steven Pressley was asked at the post-match press conference. "No comment," he said with a smile. It was a query he could have avoided had Hearts managed to maintain the advantage they gave themselves in the 12th minute, when he had launched a long-ball forward. Paul Hartley almost scored himself but when it was batted wide of target he chased it down and with a neat back-heel he found a grateful Andrius Velicka in front of a gaping goal.

It was the player's third goal in two outings, further enhancing the belief that it had been madness to leave him on the bench last week, another victim of the strange rotation system. But the fact that both Pressley and Hartley were both involved in the build up was not lost on anyone.

The match had not even started when the first chorus got under way. "There's only one Steven Pressley" sang the crowd as the players scrummed down into their pre-match huddle. That pow-wow certainly went on for longer than is customary. Given the events of 24 hours earlier, it seemed no surprise.

Minutes into the match there was a rendition of "there's only one Paul Hartley", while Craig Gordon was hailed as "Scotland's No.1". But if the supporters were showing their backing for the trio who made public the unhappiness of some players at the club, fed up with the lack of stability and unity, there was no return to the venomous rants previously directed at former chief executive Chris Robinson the last time this club was embroiled is such public turmoil.

That is because no-one wants to chase off majority shareholder Valdimir Romanov. It may also be partly due to the fact he faced them down long before the match began. In the directors' box at least 15 minutes before kick off, he was well aware the eyes of almost everyone in the ground were on him. Impassive, he stared out, master of all he surveyed, until he realised the pack of pitch-side photographers were attempting to get a clear shot of him. Standing up he smiled and waved in their direction. It was the type of theatrics Scottish football has grown accustomed to. A handful of fans applauded him.

While Graham Rix was fired because Romanov believed he was responsible for airing dirty washing in public, there were no such reprisals for the three Scotland internationals. The trio took up their usual starting positions and when the team list was announced, the three loudest cheers were reserved for them.

Perhaps heeding their words, Romanov - or perhaps it really was all down to interim coach Eduard Malofeev - also reinstated Julien Brellier to the bench. The Frenchman was greeted as warmly as the three Scots when he joined the fray in the 81st minute, a rendition of "Only one Julien Brellier" having already filled the air 20 minutes earlier.

Alongside all that, the match seemed almost incidental. Almost, but in reality it was vital. The players' statement had been provoked ultimately by the threat of what would happen to the Hearts team if they did not beat their guests, who themselves don't have troubles to seek and are hopeful of a new appointment within a fortnight.

With Jim Leishman bidding an emotional farewell to the managerial hotseat this week, moving back into his director of football role, they were also in need of a pick-me-up. The point at the ground formerly known as Fortress Tynecastle gave them exactly that as they moved off the bottom of the league, clear of drop rivals Dundee United.

While the performance was a vast improvement on the embarrassing capitulation to Hibs on Monday, as they scrapped and fought for every ball and piled pressure on a Hearts side trying to rise above the chaos, they also benefited from a stroke of luck.

Three minutes into the second half Stephen Simmons headed down a Owen Morrison corner and Hamilton bundled it over the line with his hand. The decision to deem it a legitimate goal infuriated Gordon but his remonstrations earned him nothing but a booking and the home fans another 42 minutes of nail-biting and the threat of the Romanov garage sale loomed large.

The club owner's aides are already trying to minimise the damage, claiming his comments had been heat of the moment and not meant. That's not how it sounded to the Hearts players on the receiving end and while Pressley claimed it had galvanised them and prompted a greater work ethic, they were still missing a cutting edge.

Hearts could still have finished the game victorious, but Hartley had his shot blocked in the 88th minute, and then Andy Tod headed off the line from a Robbie Neilson drive in stoppage time. It would only have papered over cracks.

Pressley thanks fans for their support when it really mattered

JUST over 24 hours after they had faced the media to blow apart a myth that they themselves had helped perpetuate, of a harmonious Heart of Midlothian Football Club, Steven Pressley, Paul Hartley and Craig Gordon were given a tumultuous welcome on to the Tynecastle turf.

The majority of those who turned up had backed their stance - of those who hadn't, many will have been won over by the sentiment expressed by their team captain in his programme notes.

Penned before the Vladimir Romanov ranting was even a blip on the radar, he said it was imperative that they win the fixture, adding that it was time for the players to stand up and be counted.

"To pull on the famous maroon jersey of Heart of Midlothian is an honour, make no mistake, and every player who does so must share in that belief," he wrote. "This is a time for strong characters. Nothing less will suffice."

There had always been the possibility that all or at least one of the three may have been dropped for their insubordination but having discovered at their usual time that all three were in the side, Pressley led the team out to a huge roar. Some fans afforded a cautious glance behind them to judge the mood of the majority shareholder as they applauded but the player who is a virtual certainty to be included in the club's Hall of Fame next month said he had been touched.

"It brought a wee bit of a lump to the throat. The crowd gave us a fantastic reception and I thought they were a credit to our football club, I really do mean that, I am not trying to influence them with quotes. It was quite an emotional day for us all and we were delighted with the response from our supporters who got behind the team."

Explaining the prolonged pre-match huddle, he sheepishly admitted that was because he was unusually stuck for words. "I just couldn't think of anything to say, to be honest with you. I should have written it down," he joked in light-hearted reference to the sombre statement he had read from a sheet of A4 paper the previous day.

Back in serious mode, he added that, while recent events had not been pleasant for anyone, he did get the feeling that it may have helped galvanise the side.

"I thought as a team we showed good spirit and I felt even prior to the game that there was a positive feeling in the dressing room and we just, unfortunately, couldn't get the result. We are disappointed because that's two games, against Kilmarnock here and Dunfermline here, and no disrespect to either side but those are two games we have to look to win but nobody could point the finger at the players today in terms of their effort. Our quality we have to continue to improve but, in terms of effort, I thought we rallied and did try our utmost to get the right result."

The fact that it failed to materialise was in part down to an improved performance from a Dunfermline side themselves coming to terms with the departure of their manager and the uncertainty of who will replace him. They are also engaged in a bid for survival and needed the point won at Gorgie to move off the bottom of the league.

"I thought that we started the game very well," said Pressley, "but considering what Dunfermline have experienced this week, I thought they showed great resilience themselves and probably, in the end, the result was a fair reflection on the game."

But he refused to be drawn on another whacky team selection that saw three defenders strewn across the centre of the park while two first-team midfielders were left on the bench. "I think I have made my feelings clear so I want to bodyswerve that one! I have made a statement and hopefully in the weeks ahead things will progress. I want a positive outcome for the sake of the club."

Stand-in coach Eduard Malofeev, speaking through an interpreter, was more combative on the topic. He made just two changes to the side but switched to a 3-4-3 formation and despite the fact Romanov has already publicly admitted helping select the team, he said: "I want to honestly tell you that Vladimir was never interfering in any football matters. I don't know where this idea comes from. People who spread such gossip are showing their weakness."

Another example of fact being confused with fiction - no wonder the players' patience ran out.

Taken from the Scotsman