Changes nigh as Hearts cut their cloth

BARRY ANDERSON
HEARTS have the opportunity to drastically reduce their wage bill and squad size this summer when 12 first-team and six youth-team players' contracts expire.
Tynecastle officials confirm that a gradual change in the face of the club will take place over the coming months, with recruitment policies now centring around young players with sound development potential.

Christos Karipidis, Robbie Neilson, Jamie MacDonald, Juho Makela and Anthony Basso all have less than six months on their current contracts. Bruno Aguiar finds himself in the same predicament, although negotiations on an extension for the influential Portuguese are progressing well. Several loan agreements between Hearts and FBK Kaunas will be due for renewal at the end of the season, rendering the futures of Deividas Cesnauskis, Saulius Mikoliunas, Marius Zaliukas, Marian Kello and Adrian Mrowiec uncertain at best. Mike Tullberg, the Danish forward on loan from Reggina, is due to return to Italy in May, while under-19 players Jonathan Stewart, Ryan Wallace, Ben Long, Mark Cowan, Ross McKenzie and Robert Adam are also near the end of their current deals.

The opportunity to reorganise at all levels and reduce operating costs is preoccupying those in power at Riccarton, and yesterday four reserve players – Sean Mackle, Alistair Devine, Sean Kelly and Craig Sives – were released. Vladimir Romanov, Hearts' majority shareholder, will sanction new contracts and loans for those deemed worthy enough and who harbour genuine sell-on potential. However, a major shift in focus is underway to improve the club's long-term financial predicament.

Many high earners are to be replaced over time by youthful protégés on smaller basic salaries. These will be a mixture of youth academy products and players cherry-picked from elsewhere – primarily Scotland but not discounting the rest of Britain and Europe – because of their fledgling promise.

Ian Black fits the identikit model: A 23-year-old pre-contract signing from Inverness who is already a Scotland B internationalist and who will earn a moderate salary in Gorgie while striving to fully realise his potential.

Hearts' aim is to hone Black and other young players at first-team level alongside a handful of more experienced team-mates before securing a premium transfer fee when their market value peaks in later years. This approach has already proven successful with Craig Gordon, Rudi Skacel and Roman Bednar. Jose Goncalves may offer yet more profit if German club Nuremberg invoke their option to sign the defender permanently for a pre-agreed ¤3million in May.

The pursuit of Motherwell's Chris Porter also underlines Hearts' craving for players yet to reach their peak, although he is keen to return to England for family reasons. Further down the line, 20-year-old Kaunas defender Mantas Fridrikas is earmarked as a potential long-term replacement for Christophe Berra. His profile befits one of eastern Europe's most promising central defenders. With Romanov's Ukio Bankas Investment Group financing both clubs, negotiations aren't likely to be difficult when the time comes. The need for squad and wage reduction has been apparent for some time at Hearts. The process began last June with the departure of £12,000-a-week Chilean striker Mauricio Pinilla and continued in October when record signing Mirsad Beslija had his £9000-a-week contract terminated. Two of Tynecastle's biggest earners – and under-achievers – being deemed surplus to requirements was a hint that Romanov was changing tact for the better, and the managed reduction in salary bill will continue.

Hearts' wage bill peaked in season 2006/07 at £12.48million, an unsustainable burden for a club whose turnover was £10.32m that year. The next set of financial results are likely to show a notable reduction. Most viable businesses run a salary to turnover ratio of between 60 and 70 per cent, and seeing Hearts operate at double that certainly stung Romanov.

Recruiting Csaba Laszlo furnished the club with a manager noted for building confidence and character within young players. Regular contact with Romanov has made him fully appreciate the new direction Hearts are heading in.

"This is an interesting situation. I think in the summer Mr Romanov will run a lot of contracts out," he said.

"Then we must have new construction and new plans, maybe it will be a completely new team. This is interesting for the players. The ones we have must show good performances to stay with us. We are trying to build a team for the summer and next season which has a good mixture of youth and experience. Janos Balogh was the first step because we would like to keep our young talented players. We must also keep some experience because you must have leaders on the field.

"I don't know if we will lose players before the transfer window closes but I know that in May, if our players continue their performances, some of them will be very interesting for big clubs. The summer is really the big shopping opportunity. There will be very interesting movement in all clubs, and especially in my club."

Laszlo is already moulding some of Riccarton's best pupils into a team capable of challenging for Europe. Andy Driver, Christophe Berra, Eggert Jonsson and Lee Wallace have all excelled this season to emphasise the merits of investing time, attention and money in young talent.

"Those players have done so well for my team," continued Laszlo. "I also try to give the chance for Gary Glen and we have Calum Elliot back now. Until we sell we cannot buy players. At the moment we must work with the players we have.

"If you need a player in January he must be able to play in your team immediately. You don't have enough time to bring somebody in the team who will guarantee 100 per cent performance. The biggest changes will be in summer."

Hearts' policy mirrors that of several other clubs in Britain and beyond as football proves it is far from immune to the worldwide economic downturn. Kaunas themselves have encountered problems paying players, and Romanov has touted several of their squad, including Linas Pilibaitis and Kestutis Ivaskevicius, around Scottish clubs recently. Closer to home, Celtic's current recruitment policy is markedly similar to Hearts' although it is not being received in the same gracious manner at the coal face.

Gordon Strachan bemoaned last weekend that he has no say in the club's approach to signing players, which involves gambling small fees on young players in the hope that they can be sold at a profit in future.

Marc Crosas, 21, Koki Mizuno, 23, Milan Misun, 18, Michael Lang, 17, Dominic Cervi, 22, and Ben Hutchinson, 21, have all arrived at Parkhead in the last year while chief executive Peter Lawwell is currently negotiating with Manchester City over a fee for Wales striker Ched Evans, 19. He also hopes to secure 18-year-old Danish forward Morten Neilsen from Chelsea following a trial period.

"I can't do anything about that," said Strachan on his board's signing strategy.

"That's the club's policy and I can't change that.

"I'm here to try and implement the club's policy and still try to win things at the same time. That's part of the deal. There's a long-term thing to it."

Asked if he would adopt the club's approach voluntarily given the choice, he added: "No. Give me as much money as you can, but it's part of what's happening in the world at the moment. In our world, that's for sure."

Laszlo's attitude contrasts that of Strachan, for the Hungarian is willing to embrace the chance to promote from within and help Hearts recruit players more astutely than ever before.

His team is likely to undergo quite dramatic changes during June and July, and quite who will take the field in maroon next season is anyone's guess.

Players who could be out of Tynecastle by the summer

Robbie Nielson
Defender. Scottish. Age: 28. Awarded testimonial last May after ten years' service.

Marian Kello
Goalkeeper. Slovakian. Age: 26. On loan from FBK Kaunas. Eight appearances to date with Hearts.

Mike Tullberg
Striker. Danish. Age: 23. Major injury setbacks since signing one-year loan from Serie A's Reggina.

Jamie MacDonald
Goalkeeper. Scottish. Age: 22. Signed from Hearts youth set-up in June 2002. Four appearances.

Deividas Cesnauskis
Midfielder. Lithuanian. Age: 27. Signed on loan from FBK Kaunas in January 2005. Won the Scottish Cup in 2006 with Hearts. Russian clubs monitoring his situation.

Marius Zaliukas
Defender. Lithuanian. Age: 25. Arrived on loan from FBK Kaunas in August 2006. Full international honours. Interest reported from English, Spanish and Russian clubs.

Christos Karipidis
Defender. Greek. Age: 26. Signed from PAOK Salonika in July 2006. Has won honours at Olympic and Under-21 level. Interest from clubs in France, England and Italy.

Saulius Mikoliunas
Midfielder. Lithuanian. Age: 24. Arrived on loan from FBK Kaunas in January 2005. Almost moved to Greek club Larissa in summer, has hinted he may leave club.

Juho Makela
Striker. Finnish. Age: 25. Signed from HJK Helsinki in January 2006 for £300,000. Five Finland caps.

Anthony Basso
Goalkeeper. French. Age: 29. Signed September 2007 from AJ Auxerre. Also played in Italy's Serie B.

Adrian Mrowiec
Midfielder. Polish. Age: 25. On loan from FBK Kaunas. Has made just two appearances for Hearts.

Taken from the Scotsman