Resolute Berra proves he has maturity to shoulder more responsibility

WITH little happening on the pitch to divert attention from the fresh drama enveloping Hearts off it on Saturday, it was no surprise that it was players who did not feature in this stalemate who dominated the post-match inquest.

After a period of relative calm in the Vladimir Romanov era, the Tynecastle club reclaimed the back pages with the decision to leave Craig Gordon and Paul Hartley out of the side. Both men are now likely to follow their 'Riccarton Three' colleague Steven Pressley in moving on before the transfer window closes on Wednesday night, with Hearts also hoping to conclude the sales of Robbie Neilson, Julien Brellier and Michal Pospisil within the next 72 hours.

All five players have apparently been informed they are being sold "for business reasons", which was the phrase head coach Valdas Ivanauskas repeated to the media on Saturday evening. Prize asset Gordon and his fellow Scotland international Hartley will realise a tidy sum for the heavily in-debt club but their prospective transfers make less obvious sense from a footballing perspective. No-one at Hearts can seriously suggest their team will not be weakened by the loss of the country's best goalkeeper and most effective attacking midfielder, especially if, in Hartley's case, he ends up playing for one of their rivals at the top end of the SPL.

"I can't say a lot about it, all I can say is that it is football business," added Ivanauskas. "It is football politics and I don't want to speak about it directly after the game."

When it was put to him that just two weeks ago he had singled Gordon and Hartley out as key players for Hearts, he said: "That was two weeks ago, now it is two weeks later. I'm sorry, but for me the team is important. I pick my team for the result and you see the result we got last week and today."

It is Romanov who is calling the shots, however, and he will continue to do things in his own unaccountable fashion. For those players who must pick up the baton from men like Pressley, Gordon and Hartley, the challenge is to somehow prove that the end will justify their owner's often bizarre means.

In that respect, Hearts supporters can at least be grateful that the captain's armband will now be passed on to Christophe Berra. The young defender, who will be 22 on Wednesday, spoke as eloquently and robustly as he played on Saturday when he was thrust into the round of post-match interviews.

Berra was outstanding in a superbly drilled defensive performance as Hearts resisted Rangers' dominance of territory and possession to keep their pursuit of second place in the SPL alive.

While he is now obliged to toe the party line, Berra was nonetheless sincere and convincing enough in his assertion that Hearts will survive and even prosper if they lose Gordon and Hartley.

"They have done a great job for this club, but good players move on at every club," he said. "If you look through our squad, we have a lot of quality in it. It showed today when Craig and Paul were not playing. The players who came in today did a good job, so you can't complain about it.

"There have been a lot of changes, even in my time at the club. Good players come and they also move on. It's not a case of forgetting about them, but you have to concentrate on the other good players coming in. That's the way football works. We are professionals and our job is to get on with it. You don't think about it too much at the time.

"Of course they [Gordon and Hartley] are quality players and of course it would weaken the squad if they go, but we have also just signed two new players [Laryea Kingston and Gogita Gogua] who look really good in training. We are getting a good standard of player in to replace them if they move on."

Berra appears to have natural leadership qualities and is certainly having to grow up fast at a club where stability is an alien concept. "I'm still quite young and a lot of things happen at this club," he smiled. "I think it will make me stronger and more experienced. I think I have handled it well so far. If I'm captain, it doesn't change my game. I go out there and play as I normally would. It's a great honour to captain one of the biggest clubs in Scotland. I wouldn't want to take it off Craig's arm, it's a difficult situation, but not many people would say no to it if it was offered. We will just have to wait and see."

In a match high on endeavour but low on creative quality, it was defenders who emerged with most credit. Berra and his central defensive partner Marius Zaliukas blunted the threat of Kris Boyd and Nacho Novo, while Ugo Ehiogu enjoyed a largely untroubled debut alongside David Weir at the heart of the Rangers backline.

Rangers created and missed the game's best chances, most notably through Libor Sionko from close range in the first half, and saw their best move end in disappointment when Barry Ferguson finished off a sweeping attack but saw his celebrations cut short by an offside flag.

"I thought we were the better team in terms of pressure and possession," said Weir. "It's disappointing not to win but it was another clean sheet for the team and we are definitely going in the right direction. We have given ourselves something to build on and we want to get Rangers back to where they belong."

The 36-year-old savoured his home debut for the club he supported as a boy and is clearly relishing an unexpected opportunity at such an advanced stage of his career.

"I was as nervous as I've been before a game for a long time," he said. "I've played here before with Falkirk and Hearts, but with a completely different mindset. I also came here as a fan. It was very strange for me, but I really enjoyed it apart from the result."

Weir also expressed his sympathy for the Hearts supporters in having to deal with the likely loss of his international team-mates Gordon and Hartley.

"That's disappointing," he said. "I feel sorry for the Hearts fans and players. They want their best players on the pitch. The fans are paying good money to see their best players on the park and it's a shame when that doesn't happen.

"Craig is top notch, he's got the lot. There is nothing to stop him going all the way. I also think Paul is a top player of a standard which will allow him to go and play wherever he wants."

Taken from the Scotsman