Romanov is talisman for Hearts

VLADIMIR ROMANOV would be entitled to wonder what all the fuss is about. Last time in Edinburgh he witnessed a resounding 4-1 win over Aberdeen. Saturday brought a similarly convincing, if less aesthetic, triumph against UEFA Cup-chasing Dundee United. On evidence gathered first-hand, the majority shareholder might consider all is going swimmingly at the primary club in his three-team empire.

Not that any particular disaster has ensued of late, as interim manager Stephen Frail stressed in the wake of victory over Craig Levein's side. Frail has become extremely adept at accentuating positives since taking command of footballing matters at New Year, but the truth is he has effected a moderate uprising.

Romanov, of course, wasn't here to see the low points of November and December and therefore might wonder where dissenting voices came from relating to the direction Hearts were heading in. If the team performed like they did on either of his last two visits to Tynecastle, supporters would have precious little to take issue with.

That Hearts haven't always managed to reach such heights shouldn't be allowed to muddy judgment on Frail's tenure. Not without its own moments of distress – last week's goalless draw with Falkirk, for example – the statistics point to undeniable overall improvement under the former full-back. This continued with three points against United following an unyielding and resolute display which could only have satisfied Romanov as he jetted back to eastern Europe on Saturday evening. Larry Kingston scored the only goal of the afternoon to revive Hearts' top-six aspirations with Falkirk only managing to draw at home to Kilmarnock.

"Hopefully it won't be long before Mr Romanov is watching a top-of-the-table team," said Frail. "That's what he wants and we need to strive to get it. The last game he was here was against Aberdeen, one of our better performances of the season."

"Last time he turned up we won 4-1 so maybe he should come to every game," laughed captain Christophe Berra. "But we should be putting in those kind of performances every week. We knew we needed a victory to atone for some previous results against United. We did that." Frail admitted Romanov's long-term plan for Tynecastle's managerial chair wasn't mentioned during his visit. "We had a catch-up chat, which was fine," he continued. "It's good for him to come over and see the commitment of the players. He had a brief chat with the players and a meeting with all the staff as well to thank them.

"We always like to pride ourselves on being a tight-knit club and a family club. Even though myself and the players are at Riccarton, a lot of people at Tynecastle are working really hard. It's good that he spoke to them as well and told them he's pleased with them."

Ultimately, the ones who matter most are players and Romanov must be encouraged by the ascent from second bottom of the table under Frail. "I was just glad we won on merit," said the manager. "We've struggled against Dundee United in our last few meetings. They're a good side who aren't just hard to beat, they're up there at the top end of the league on merit. Falkirk drawing gives us a chance if we go and beat Kilmarnock next week. There's still that small chance of getting into the top six.

"I don't want to keep harping on about the statistical side of things, but since the game against Dundee United in January when we lost 4-1 we've now amassed more points in this quarter than both them and Hibs. People might think 'are you sure?' but look at the points we've taken and it's now seven clean sheets in ten as well. That's another positive thing but there's so much negativity surrounding us.

"The players have been giving me that (effort] since the last Dundee United game. Things haven't always gone their way but they got their rewards on Saturday."

United seemed to suffer for deploying Mark de Vries alone up front in a 4-5-1 formation. If there's one thing the talented Dutchman isn't it's mobile, but the visitors exchanged passes tidily in midfield. Hearts lined up man for man the same way but enjoyed accomplished displays from Christophe Berra, Michael Stewart, Ruben Palazuelos and Saulius Mikoliunas which made the difference.

And then there was Kingston's contribution. "Larry is a good player and it's good to have him back," continued Frail. "I still don't think he's back to his best in terms of fitness but he played a fair bit of Ghana's friendly in London last week and was a bit tired. He put in a shift, scored the goal and you can see the ability he has.

"Christophe has been consistent all season too and took a real boost from the international call-up. Mark de Vries is back up here scoring goals and he's a real handful, but it was a good battle between the two of them and I thought Christophe was excellent. As was Marius Zaliukas.

"I was delighted with the performance. We didn't really create any chances against Falkirk the previous week and there were a few more on Saturday. We looked pretty solid and took one of the chances we did create, which was a good finish from Larry. We managed to hold on for three great points."

United's discipline vanished, perhaps due to frustration, during the closing minutes of the match when both Garry Kenneth and Danny Swanson were dismissed for late, reckless tackles. "I think Swanson's challenge is exactly the same as one on Kenneth in the first half," said Levein. "It disappoints me that there wasn't even a booking in the first half and Danny gets a red card. I think it was very harsh indeed.

"We passed the ball well, we defended well. It's maybe a measure of how far the team has come that we expect to win here.I thou
ght we passed the ball well and defensively and in midfield I was quite pleased. However, we didn't do enough in the last third. I tried to alter things late on to see if we could take advantage of some quality balls into the box, but we didn't do that."

Kenneth and Swanson weren't the only ones to lose the place, for Christian Nade's first-half antics were the last thing Frail needed with Romanov in attendance. The striker took exception to his coach's deserved criticism for refusing to chase a potentially useful through ball, and then gestured to Frail to substitute him if he wasn't happy.

In the end, Nade remained on the field, but Frail won't take kindly to having his credibility challenged in public. The interim manager has contributed infinitely more to Hearts' cause than the mercurial Frenchman, something Romanov should bear in mind for his summer re-organising process.

Taken from the Scotsman