By Roddy Forsyth
Last Updated: 1:19am GMT 30/10/2006

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George Foulkes, the former Heart of Midlothian chairman, yesterday delivered a stinging attack on the club's owner, Vladimir Romanov – who had threatened to sell off the Tynecastle first-team squad if they failed to beat Dunfermline Athletic – accusing him of "trying to run the club like a Soviet submarine".

Vladimir Romanov
Disruptive: Vladimir Romanov

Hearts were held to a 1-1 draw by Dunfermline at Tynecastle, where a threatened walkout by fans did not materialise.

It had been suggested that Romanov would demand the exclusion of three first-team players – Steven Pressley, the Hearts captain, Craig Gordon and Paul Hartley – after the three went public with a statement declaring that it had become impossible to instil correct values and discipline and that the dressing room now harboured significant unrest because of the owner's alleged interference.

However, the three Scottish players were in place for a match that saw Hearts lead through Andrius Velicka after 12 minutes but were pegged back by a contested equaliser from Jim Hamilton; Gordon insisted the Pars forward had handled the ball, and was booked for his annoyance.

Despite the team's failure to deliver the victory demanded by Romanov, the Russian-Lithuanian banker had nothing to say about his threatened clear-out, merely posting a message on the club's official website to the effect that he would not walk away from the club.
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Foulkes had strong words for the man responsible for deposing him as Hearts chairman. "Romanov has been flexing his muscles more than is sensible. This has resulted in three internationals saying, 'Enough is enough'.

"Romanov is a bit like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The people around him are all yes-men or yes-women. He used to be a submarine commander and he thinks he can run a football club as a Soviet submarine.

"To have a fire sale of players like Gordon, Pressley and Hartley has to be crazy. You can only run a club of our kind with the commitment of the players and the fans," he said.

Valdas Ivanauskas is now at home in Lithuania, having taken a two-week break from football because of the stress he has suffered working for Romanov. In his absence, team selection – at least nominally – was in the hands of the former USSR and Belarus coach, Eduard Malofeev, Hearts' director of football.

Malofeev, who speaks no English, reacted angrily when asked if Romanov had dictated team lines. "Vladimir was never interfering in any football matter. I don't know where this idea comes from. I'm the manager and I make the decisions.

"I can take advice from people but my word is the last word. People who spread such gossip just want to show their weakness. Speaking honestly, I am surprised to hear such questions," he said, despite the fact that Romanov recently admitted that he did meddle in team selection and would continue to do so.

Pressley, meanwhile, said he would seek a meeting with Romanov to clarify the situation.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk