BONFIRE OF THE VANITY

VLADIMIR ROMANOV left Inverness 15 minutes before the final whistle and immediately dispelled the myth he knows nothing about football.

The Caley Thistle Stadium is a place where Arctic winds go to put up an almighty struggle before blowing their last on the shores of the Moray Firth.

The death throes of these icy draughts do nothing for the quality of football at the coldest venue in the SPL, with its picturesque framing against the Craig Dunain Hills about its only redeeming feature.

The standard of entertainment served up was shocking as Romanov did his best Bonnie Prince Charlie impression and fled early from the scene like the Great Pretender at nearby Culloden Moor 260 years earlier.

On his first visit to Inverness last season, Romanov ordered his driver to pull off the A9 and proceeded to collect kindling for an impromptu bonfire and hour-long meditation session at the edge ofasecluded forest.

This time, thankfully and at long last, he seems to be burning some of his own vanities as he bids to restore some much-needed stability to a club that could easily consider adding a big top to the plans for Main Stand redevelopment at Tynecastle.

Romanov told Record Sport on Saturday morning he is here to listen and Hearts PR staff must have felt like Neville Chamberlain on his return from Munich in 1938 as they waved a team-sheet in the air before kick-off that seemed to declare peace in our time.

Names such as Steven Pressley, Robbie Neilson and Takis Fyssas were restored to the line-up and even Julien Brellier is on his way to being described as a first-team regular again after starting three games on the trot.

The relationship between Pressley and his employers remains fractious but Romanov is even talking about a player-coach position, an idea mooted in the past and which was greeted positively, if cautiously, by Elvis who reckons he still has a couple of good years to dedicate to playing alone.

There have even been robust talks between the Hearts owner and his coaching staff in the past few days, although not yet his warring players, which culminated in raised voices in a meeting room at the Dalm ahoy Hotel on Friday at lunchtime. Mind you, Russians rarely do volume control and even if the likes of Eduard Malofeev was to croon his grandkids a lullaby it would come across as the Reverend Ian Paisley singing Bonnie Tyler.

Malofeev leaves this morning for Russia on UEFA coaching licence business and hands the team back to Valdas Ivanauskas, who took in the action in Inverness beside his boss after a month on the sidelines through ill-health.

He has hopefully been advised by medics on how to cope better with stress, although the greater challenge will still be to convince Jambos he can be a long-term success in the job after faltering in the first few months in the post full-time.

His team have now gone eight games without a win, two of which were his responsibility, but there was a step towards recovery in the clean sheet in Inverness, their first since October 1.

A draw was merited, although Inverness pushed hard near the end for the win that would have taken them into the top six.

Hearts must yearn for the stability of the superbly-run Highland club, who lack nothing but a stand along one side of the pitch to keep the worst of the winds at bay. Their defence, marshalled by Darren Dods and Grant Munro, gave Hearts few chances but Paul Hartley and Pressley should have done better in each half when given a sight of Mark Brown's goal.

The Caley keeper also denied Hartley and Saulius Mikoliunas with super saves but opposite number Craig Gordon was the busier keeper as he further enhanced his reputation in the difficult conditions.

He knew little about a header from Ian Black that hit the bar two minutes from the break but was earlier alert to touch a drive from Barry Wilson around the post before smothering at the feet of busy frontman Dennis Wyness.

Craig Dargo, who kept Pressley and Christophe Berra on their toes, also danced forward from deep and scraped the bar with a wonderful effort, while sub Richie Hart flashed a left-foot shot inches wide of the post near the end.

Worryingly, there were large gaps in the Hearts end, but those who did travel made an almighty racket, although booing was thankfully not part of their repertoire this week.

However, they are concerned about the position Hartley has been forced to adopt under Malofeev and which seems to threaten his ability to forge forward with menacing runs behind defences.

The Scotland midfielder has been pushed further forward, almost in support of Andrius Velicka, and the team are missing his playmaking presence with too much of his work done off the ball and with his back to goal.

Still, that is sure to be addressed by Ivanauskas, although his side's stumble down the SPL after recent poor results will be of greater concern on his first day back.

Once more, it was left to sports director Alex Koslovskito speak on behalf of the club, although this time his address to fans was much more straightforward than in recent weeks.

He said: "Inverness is not an easy place to play. We expected a hard game and although we're a little disappointed not to win, a draw was a fair result.

"Steven Pressley was selected because he showed Eduard by his 100 per cent effort and attitude in training that he was one of the best sportsmen in the squad."

Inverness boss Charlie Christie rightly pressed his side's claims for all three points but was happy enough to settle for the draw in the end.

He said: "We showed good endeavour after the first 25 minutes and went all out for the winner. Craig Gordon broke our hearts last year in a 0-0 draw here and showed again why he's No.1 in the country by some distance.

"However, we are stepping on once again this season. It's very pleasing for us to be pegging back a team such as good as Hearts."

MATCH STATS

POSSESSION

52% 4%

SHOTS ON TARGET

6 5

SHOTS OFF TARGET

8 4

CORNERS

3 4

FOULS CONCEDED

15 17

OFFSIDES

6 4

INVERNESS CT

MAN BY MAN

Mark Brown: Excellent handling in trying conditions for keepers. 7

Ross Tokely: Knows his limits but pushed forward to good effect. 6

Darren Dods: A leader's display - strong in the tackle and well organised. 7

Grant Munro: He didn't put a foot wrong all afternoon in the middle of defence. 7

Richard Hastings: Confident and assured defensive display and pushed on well. 6

Barry Wilson: Showed fleeting moments of potential from wide areas. 6

Russell Duncan: Distribution not always spot on but tireless midfield contributor. 6

Ian Black: Ran out of steam in second half after lively opening performance. 5

Roy McBain: Kept Jambos' left-sided defenders on their toes. 6

Craig Dargo: Lively link play with Wyness but chances few and far between. 6

Dennis Wyness: Kept Jambos defence on toes with energetic contribution in attack. 6

Subs: Graham Bayne - Added physical threat up front as Inverness pushed for winner, 4. Richie Hart - Was a danger whenever given the chance to push forward, 3. Rory McAllister - On too late to make significant difference, 2.

HEARTS

MAN BY MAN

Craig Gordon: Couple of class saves and excellent handling in tough conditions. 8

Robbie Neilson: Assured and confident as Hearts kept rare clean sheet. 6

Steven Pressley: Quiet but confident return to action for club skipper. 6

Christophe Berra: Settled into another solid game beside mentor Pressley. 6

Takis Fyssas: The raiding runs are now held in check but sound at the back. 6

Bruno Aguiar: Midfield buzz bomb worked hard to inspire team-mates. 6

Julien Brellier: Kept back door bolted as his confidence grows again. 6

Paul Hartley: Asked to play too far forward as Hearts miss midfield drive. 5

Nerijus Barasa: A game trier but Hearts need more forward spark from midfielder. 6

Saulius Mikoliunas: Kept boo-boys at bay with a lively performance from wide areas. 6

Andrius Velicka: Put himself about well but lacked adequate support in attack. 6

Subs: Lee Wallace 4 - Solid second-half replacement for Fyssas, 4. Jamie Mole - Added industry and energy to attack late on, 4. Neil McCann - Not on park long enough to influence proceedings, 2.

MOMENT THAT CHANGED THE GAME:

Caley Thistle would have been given lift on half-time had Black's header not hit the bar.

Taken from the Daily Record