Vladimir Romanov in no rush to seal Paulo Sergio deal

STUART BATHGATE
Published on Wednesday 23 May 2012 02:59

VLADIMIR Romanov will not be rushed into concluding a deal with Hearts manager Paulo Sergio, despite a growing clamour following the the Scottish Cup final win for him to be offered a new contract.

According to a Tynecastle source, the club are close to finalising an offer to be put to the 44-year-old Portuguese but have yet to begin direct negotiations with him. Sergio, who masterminded Hearts’ 5-1 victory over Hibernian at Hampden on Saturday, has said for some time that he is willing to stay at the club, which he joined last summer. The day after the final, however, he expressed his disappointment at the lack of contact from his employers, and gave the impression in an impromptu press conference at Tynecastle that he thought he would be on his way.

The club say that, contrary to some reports, Sergio is still in Edinburgh and will not fly home until tomorrow. There is therefore still time for Hearts to make him an offer and for him to negotiate directly either with majority shareholder Romanov or director Sergejus Fedotovas.

But, while Romanov would not be unhappy if the manager accepted any offer immediately, it’s likely that Sergio will go home to think about it.

He could then either return to Edinburgh to accept or continue negotiations, or stay in Portugal and instruct his agent to seek new offers from other clubs. “We want Paulo to stay and we have already had progressive talks,” Fedotovas said earlier this week. “Now we hope to speak with him at some stage later this week. We also have to wait and see what Paulo has to say, but we look forward to inviting him to accept the proposal.”

Ukio Bankas Investment group (Ubig), Hearts’ parent company in which Romanov has a controlling interest, traditionally takes a ponderous approach to negotiations. That can be a useful negotiating ploy when dealing with agents who demand that deals be struck with maximum speed. But it can also be disadvantageous.

In the case of Sergio, it seems like the latter. The manager has consistently insisted that his primary concern is not the terms and conditions, including his salary, but the nature of “the project” and the length of time he will have to work on it.

There are two distinct but related issues. The amount of money Sergio will have for a transfer budget, and the time he will be given to carry out what will be a substantial rebuilding exercise. On Sunday, the manager made it clear that the latter issue was becoming an increasing concern for him.

“There has been no other talks,” he said. “We’re losing too much time. It is not my decision whether or not I stay. At this moment I have nothing and that is bothering me and p***ing me off a little bit. But I’m tough enough to deal with that.”

The former Vitoria Guimaraes and Sporting boss has a methodical approach to management and ideally would have by now begun work on rebuilding the team. Midfield playmaker Ian Black and striker Stephen Elliott have already been told they will not be offered new contracts, and Rudi Skacel could also be on his way. With a number of other squad members also being released, Hearts will need to recruit in the close season, even if the number of players on their books for the coming campaign will be smaller than it was in the one just ended.

Taken from the Scotsman