Hearts 4 Dunfermline 0: winter of discontent is kept at bay ... for now

Circumstances are gathering pace as January approaches, and it deepens the feeling that Hearts are on the verge of a period of trauma and upheaval.

Vladimir Romanov, the club's majority shareholder, seems to be indulging in a game of brinksmanship, and a consortium interested in buying Hearts revealed to Herald Sport last week their concerns about his intentions, and their feeling that he is thwarting any attempt to negotiate a sale. His Ukio Bankas business reported to have made a significant loss last year. It is likely that once the transfer window opens, a number of players will be sold, to raise money and to lower the wage bill, and the fate of Driver has to be seen in that context.

His agent made public the player's belief that he has been frozen out of the team, despite being fit, and also claimed that Driver has a strained relationship with Paulo Sergio. The Hearts manager refuted this in a statement made after the win over Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday, but confirmed that having asked Driver if the newspaper quotes were accurate and been told that they were, he asked the player to leave. Driver was due to be on the bench, and his place was taken by Chris Kane, the captain of the Hearts under-19s.

Driver has 18 months left on his contract, and will be sold in January, with Hearts hoping to receive in the region of £1m. Others will follow, particularly since several first-team players have rejected contract extensions due to the uncertainty around the club. The under-19 players currently out on loan will return next month, and the expectation is that they will be drafted into the first team to cover for what will, in many ways, amount to a fire sale.

Footballers tend to be pragmatic, and this performance was delivered in spite of the confusion surrounding the club. The Hearts players were able to distinguish between their off-field concerns and the professional imperative to compete with Dunfermline.

There are differences of opinion among them about the best way to deal with the late payment of their wages, but a general consensus – and spirit of unity – appears to have been reached. When Marius Zaliukas cleared an awkward header near his own goal during the first half, he was congratulated by his fellow defenders. Similarly, when Mehdi Taouil scored the second goal, he ran towards the bench to celebrate with Alberto Cabral, the assistant manager, and Gary Locke, the first-team coach.

As much as Hearts were hard-edged and focused, they encountered little meaningful resistance from Dunfermline. The home side's display was an act of exploitation, after opening the scoring in just only two minutes through Stephen Elliott. The visitors were guilty of defensive gullibility and have now slipped to the bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, albeit on goal difference.

"We've got to learn, when we come to away grounds like Tynecastle, that we've got to be resolute," said Martin Hardie, the Dunfermline midfielder. "We've got to start defending properly. It's a learning curve. Credit to [Hearts], because they've had a lot of s*** going on, outwith football, but we gave them a helping hand."

On the field, Hearts are not in crisis yet, and the emphatic nature of this result and display offered a respite. Late in the second half, after he had been substituted and before the third and fourth goals were added by David Templeton and Rudi Skacel, Taouil rose from his seat on the bench. He walked to the edge of the dugout, beckoned over a small boy at the front of the main stand and handed him his scrunched up jersey.

The boy looked briefly stunned, then smiled broadly as he tucked it inside his jacket. At that moment, all of Hearts' concerns, even the game itself, seemed irrelevant.

Taken from the Herald