Frail hails Romanov and will strut his own stuff in showdown with Gers

ACCORDING to his detractors, who include a lot of Hearts fans and a long list of coaches in several countries, he has been Vlad, mad, bad, and dangerous to know.

According to Hearts' caretaker manager, Stephen Frail, the club's owner Vladimir Romanov is nothing of the sort.

It is just three years ago this week – that time span is significant, and let's be honest, it seems like three decades – since Romanov acquired former chief executive Chris Robinson's shareholding and finally got his hands on Hearts.

It should never be forgotten that Romanov saved Hearts from going under. The club had debts in the eye-popping millions and the old regime's mooted property deal for Tynecastle might well have paid off the creditors but would have killed Hearts – the fans said as much. In the first 18 months of the Romanov revolution, Hearts won the Scottish Cup and qualified for the Champions League by splitting the Old Firm at the top of the SPL. As he had pledged, Romanov also kept the club in Gorgie's theatre of bedlam.

At the outset, he outlined two specific 'hostage to fortune' ambitions: that they would invest £30m into Hearts within three years and would seek to rival and eventually outdo the Old Firm. Following yesterday's win over Aberdeen, Hearts lie ninth in the SPL having flirted with relegation, they are out of the Scottish Cup, and Hearts' season hangs on them beating Rangers in the CIS Cup semi-final at Hampden on Wednesday night.

Yes, there has been investment in players, though it is hard to quantify and has to be set against the income of £10m-plus from selling Hartley and Gordon. The cash for the stadium is only now coming, with Romanov's impressive plans for a £51m redevelopment of Tynecastle.

His biggest single sin in the eyes of the Gorgie faithful was undoubtedly Romanov's wholesale meddling in playing matters. It might well be his personal toy shop, but few fans could stomach the fact that Romanov was actually picking what Action Man wore which jersey.

So this morning, Hearts fans can read the following words of Stephen Frail and see some light at the end of that particular tunnel. For Vladimir Romanov is being true to his New Year Resolution and is emphatically not interfering in the management of the coaching side of Hearts, including team selection. "I speak to him not every day but two or three times a week," said Frail, "and he just wants to know how we are progressing, what we're doing with the team, what our thoughts are for the weekend."

Frail describes their relationship as "fantastic" – even if Romanov is officially still looking for a new manager.

"It's been good for me and again the conversation is not always about the team," said Frail. "Sometimes it's just a chat and him seeing how we are. From that point of view it's obviously healthy. I don't ask him about the position (with the manager's job] and I don't expect him to enlighten me on anything. I was told at the beginning that I'd be taking on the team and that is the way it is continuing."

Frail emphasised that he does not talk directly to Romanov about transfer issues "as
we have people here who do that", but in all other respects the owner's previous interference is history.

"I don't even know if he'll be at the game on Wednesday night," said Frail. "I'm waiting to see if he's coming over."

For Frail, success on Wednesday could be bittersweet as Romanov could bring in a manager before the final: "If somebody else has to lead them out on cup final day then I can look back and at least say I have had a wee influence on that. But it's not about me it's about the players and making sure they get to the final."

Nonetheless, beating Rangers on Wednesday would put Hearts in the League Cup final for only the second time in 45 years. It would not just be the salvation of Hearts' season, it might also confirm Frail as full-time manager – if he'll pardon the pun, he has one fewer frailty than previous incumbents as the owner lets him strut his own stuff.

Taken from the Scotsman