NEW CLEAR SUB<

IF sorry seems to be the hardest word then at least Julien Brellier will do for starters.

There is as much chance of Vladimir Romanov issuing a formal apology to his dressing room for interference as there is of the Hearts owner seeing out his month-long vow of silence, which must be killing him.

However, regrets of sorts were sanctioned in the scribbling of a team sheet for Dunfermline that everyone scanned for the identities of Gordon, Pressley and Hartley.

They were there, of course - not even Romanov is that daft - but it was Brellier's name sneaking in at the bottom of the list of substitutes for the first time in a month that was every bit as significant.

So too, perhaps, was the appearance on the bench of Saulius Mikoliunas, now free of suspension, as the favoured child of the Romanov regime suddenly found automatic starting appearances can no longer be taken for granted.

French midfielder Brellier is as popular with the former submariner as the prospect of the bends but not only did he make the squad of 18, he even played the last nine minutes and was given the biggest cheer of the day.

A howling gale blew angry grey clouds around Tynecastle but if you put your ear to the wind you could detect the breeze of a subtle shift for the better in the relationship between Romanov and his players after the Riccarton rebellion of Friday afternoon.

The rain may have held off in the uneasy atmosphere but the storm clouds have still to pass over Gorgie. The rift in the dressing room between Lithuania and the rest of the world, exposed by Steven Pressley's eloquent statement, has still to be healed, along with wounds opened by Romanov's none-too-benevolent style of dictatorship.

The future of Valdas Ivanauskas must also be clarified because on the evidence of the game against the Pars, Eduard Malofeev is here for good as first-team coach.

That may be no bad thing for the media as the Belarussian boss barked his way enthusiastically through a post-match press conference in front of an increasingly bemused audience.

Jonathan Watson has surely been rubbing his hands in glee since Malofeev's first interview was broadcast on Saturday night but Hearts fans won't necessarily be smiling this morning after watching his first match in charge.

Malofeev was eventually stopped in his tracks by the Hearts PR staff as he wildly, and in ever-increasing tones, denied any interference from Romanov.

He was last seen leaving the media room with his arms in the air, loudly telling everyone in a mother tongue needing no translation that he would have been happy to stay and talk all night.

Wholesale changes were made to the Hearts formation, with a 4-4-2 replaced by a 3-4-3 and a pattern of play to suggest Malofeev arrived in Scotland from Minsk via Watford and Cambridge United.

These were not the safety-first actions of a caretaker coach who knows he will be in charge for only two games as Hearts adopted an ugly, long-ball style that rendered their midfield largely redundant.

Malofeev defended his tactics and said: "We are striving to score more goals than the opposition.

"If we make high and long passes into the box it will give us more opportunity to score more goals. In my opinion, it's better to win 10-9 than 1-0."

His preferred formation will not find favour with many in the Hearts dressing room, particularly Paul Hartley.

The Scotland star is one of the best players in the SPL at dropping deep, linking midfield with attack and darting beyond his strikers to wreak havoc in opposition penalty areas.

The only time he even saw the whites of Roddy McKenzie's eyes it was to set up the opener in 12 minutes with an audacious back flick for Andrius Velicka to score from close range after the Pars keeper had been caught out by a high ball from Pressley in the wind.

For the most part, the Jambos playmaker looked at a loose end pushed up around the fringes of the 18-yard box, where Greg Shields and Andy Tod had set up such a solid base camp there was no way through.

Romanov looked on impassively from his seat in the front row of the directors' box, his stare as fixed as a Soviet leader's examining his troops while they pass through Red Square.

There was no hint of a smile, even when the Ukio Bankas man of the match award was announced at full-time as Pressley. The fans did not chant Romanov's name but gave enthusiastic support to the rebel trio as the owner was left in no doubt where the supporters' sympathies lie.

However, their frustrations soon came to the fore as the team lost another chance to put a toe hold on the championship, a difficult task, admittedly, when you've spent the first three months of the season shooting yourself in the foot.

Lee Wallace and Robbie Neilson looked edgy and uncertain in their wing-back roles and Gary Mason and Owen Morrison played them cleverly from wide areas.

The Pars duo were available on the counter-attack to drive forward and exploit the enormous gaps in wide areas that appeared every time Neilson and Wallace pushed too far forward.

Hearts were not so much a team as three units separated by the length of the field and rarely has a visiting side been given so much room in which to operate at Tynecastle.

It came as no surprise when the Pars equalised shortly after the interval, when a Stephen Simmons header from aMorrison corner was bundled past Craig Gordon by evergreen Jim Hamilton as the Scotland keeper claimed a hand had been used.

Former Jambos star Hammy had the ball in the net soon afterwards but was ruled offside and although Hearts came close with an injury-time Neilson shot nodded over the bar by Tod, Dunfermline thoroughly merited their point.

It's just a pity the Pars could not show the same fighting spirit or Jim Leishman might still be in the dug-out, a fact on which Craig Robertson was reluctant to be drawn after the match.

He said: "I'm not pleased we've taken a point because we came here to win. I asked the boys to give us a performance rich in passion, with a good workrate and decent football and they did that.

"That is the standard they have set for whoever is appointed new manager. It will not be me, although I have been assured by the directors I still have a club.

"We showed terrific spirit to come back from a goal down and it would have been easy to fold after events of the last week but we responded really well.

"We deserved more out of the game than we got."

MAN OF THE MATCH Jim Hamilton (Dunfermline)

MAN BY MAN

HEARTS

Craig Gordon: Terrific one-handed save early on but little else to do. 6

Christophe Berra - Continues to grow in stature in middle of defence. 6

Steven Pressley: Ukio Bankas man of match. What's Vlad saying? 6

Jose Goncalves: Solid return to top-team action by Portuguese ace. 6

Robbie Neilson: Looked defensively vulnerable at wing-back. 5

Paul Hartley: Will have sore neck from watching balls being knocked over his head. 5

Ibrahim Tall: Holding midfielder contributed little to team effort. 5

Lee Wallace: Gary Mason gave him tough time but he'll learn. 5

Deividas Cesnauskis: Final ball is still too often a disappointment. 5

Roman Bednar: A passenger. Hooked and replaced by Jankauskas. 5

Andrius Velicka: Good striker's instincts to score and always showing for pass. 7

Subs: Edgaras Jankauskas - contributed little in 30 minutes on park, 3. Bruno Aguiar - too little time to make impact, 2. Julien Brellier - only got nine minutes but at least he's back in frame, 2.

DUNFERMLINE

Roddy McKenzie: Recovered well from early error to turn in confident display. 6

Jamie McCunnie: Solid shift until taken off injured early in second half. 5

Greg Shields: Arock at back as Pars held firm. 7

Andy Tod: Great injury-time clearance summed up his display. 7

Aaron Labonte: Sound in full-back role. Used ball well in attack. 6

Darren Young: Effective as midfield anchor. Decent distribution. 6

Gary Mason: Looked dangerous every time he got ball out wide. Rarely wasted a pass. 7

Stephen Simmons: Revelled in responsibility against former team. 7

Owen Morrison: Sprung to life in second half after disappointing first. 7

Jim Hamilton: Old ones are the best. Ultimate team player. 8

Mark Burchill: Not a lot of service but never hid and always hungry. 7

Subs: Greg Ross - confident second-half replacement for McCunnie, 6. Freddy Daquin - came on late and helped preserve point, 2. Calum Woods - replaced Mason as Pars held out, 2.

MOMENT THAT CHANGED THE GAME: Friday lunchtime when Hearts players laid bare their dissatisfaction with the Romanov regime.

Taken from the Daily Record