Romanov: Who's been my favourite manager at Hearts? Me

By Graeme Croser

PUBLISHED: 00:01, 9 December 2012 | UPDATED: 00:11, 9 December 2012

Situated on the 11th floor of Ukio Bank Investment Group's Kaunas headquarters, Vladimir Romanov's expansive office is the product of a busy and restless mind.

Financier, would-be politician and Lithuania's Dancing with the Stars champion of 2007, the clutter is befitting of a man of diverse interests.

But alongside the mounds of paperwork and various ornamental mementoes, the most prominent decorations highlight the Hearts owner's sporting connections.

By the window is an SPL fixture chart and, leaning against the back wall, is a football tactics board. These two items contradict each other.

The chart dates back to season 2007-08 and features a shot of former Tynecastle captain and Romanov adversary Steven Pressley wearing a Celtic shirt.

It suggests a cut-off point - did Romanov start to lose interest in Hearts five years ago?

The tactics board says otherwise, a sign that he hasn't yet given up on the long-distance team tinkering which famously brought him into conflict with managers from George Burley to Jim Jefferies.

News that he has personally negotiated with striker Arthur Rimkevicius over a January move to Tynecastle offer solid proof that he maintains a direct influence on the Hearts squad.

Nevertheless, the freshest images on the walls depict the stars and exploits of his latest sporting project, the local basketball side Zalgiris who are cutting a swathe through the sport's equivalent of the Champions League.
Going behind the curtain: Romanov continues to tinker

Going behind the curtain: Romanov continues to tinker

Romanov admits he's enjoying the challenge of making Zalgiris a continental force and, although he has ceased bank-rolling Hearts and is ready to give up his controlling stake, he professes no regrets at failing to do the same with the Edinburgh club. Upon taking over in 2005, Romanov vowed to make Hearts the No 1 team in Scotland and major players on the continent.

They peaked with a second-place finish in the SPL following his first full season but the managerial upheaval that saw Burley, Graham Rix and, finally, Valdas Ivanauskas all take charge in that campaign set the tone for what has been a chaotic reign from Lithuania.

Throughout his tenure, Romanov has persistently challenged authority, with his attacks on the 'mafia' taking in the Old Firm, the media and both the SFA and its refereeing fraternity.

Two Scottish Cup wins may seem a paltry return for the £60million he declares to have invested in the club but, as he plots his exit strategy, Romanov jokes his legacy will be of wider significance.

'I believe I have achieved much more than taking the first place in Scottish football,' he says.

'We've created more competition in football, a better atmosphere.
Silverware: Romanov kisses the Tennent's Scottish Cup

Silverware: Romanov kisses the Tennent's Scottish Cup

'I was able to point out that mafia exists in sport. And I believe, because of that criticism, refereeing became different - the referees were able to breathe freely. The referees have the same value as star players, as there is no good game without a good referee.

'Whatever is written will be the history, so it's difficult to say what people will think but I believe in detail. Our criticism had an impact. I truly believe it had a positive impact on refereeing.

'You are also well aware that, in 2004, there were a few thousand people coming to watch Hearts and the club was on the brink. Overall, attendances in Scottish football were not peaking. With us coming and creating a change, I believe the whole game in Scotland picked up.'

There's some truth in what he says, but the spiel is delivered with gusts of bluster and sarcasm. Romanov interviews are as rare as his appearances in Scotland and that's largely due to his disdain for the Scottish press.

He greets Sportsmail in the UBIG lobby fresh from his morning work-out, a daily routine that offers some explanation for his dance-floor success but is insufficiently exhausting to soothe his itchy feet.

Upstairs he is a constantly distracted interviewee, prone to getting up and walking out of the room midway through a discussion (he does this three times during our chat), while an old map of the world and illustrated science textbook also command his attention during the lengthy discourse.

Such eccentricities don't make him poor value. Quite the opposite.

Occasionally flippant and acerbic, yes, but on the whole he has plenty to say and is not shy in delivering it.

Save for a cursory welcome in English, he speaks in Lithuanian and the task of translating falls to his right-hand man Sergejus Fedotovas, who has become an ever-more visible presence in the Scottish media thanks to Hearts' on-going share issue and negotiations with the taxman.

The past week witnessed Hearts settle an outstanding bill of £450,000 with HMRC and secure a three-year payment plan for a separate £1.5m liability accrued through player loan deals from associate club FBK Kaunas.

Those solutions have helped stave off the most immediate threat to the viability of the club but there remains a hole in the Hearts finances which Romanov is determined will be plugged by player departures during next month's transfer window.

The share issue is an attempt to raise investment but he is unrepentant over his decision to cease his own funding of the club and remains dedicated to a strategy designed to make Hearts self-sufficient.

He continued: 'I have spent over £60m in seven years. Half of that money went to HMRC in various taxes. All this money was brought into the country. It was a foreign investment in the UK economy. Now the strategy has changed -we are not looking for star players or to spend on big wages because it does not pay to do this.

'But I don't regret becoming involved in Hearts. Why do you think I should regret it? Sport is a part of national culture. I cannot regret that I put money into this because I was able to preserve a really important part of that culture and improve it.'

'Obviously, the best memories are the year when we finished second and we won the cup,' he adds.

'It's not directly related to Hearts but I also enjoyed it when Kaunas beat Rangers in the Champions League qualifier.'

John Robertson was in situ when Romanov took control and the club's goalscoring legend became the first managerial casualty when he was removed in favour of Burley in the summer of 2005.

Seven more have held the job - Rix, Ivanauskas, Anatoly Korobochka, Csaba Laszlo, Jefferies, Paulo Sergio and current incumbent John McGlynn - while several others have filled in as caretakers.

It's an extensive list and one can't resist the temptation of asking who his favourite was.

'Me,' he responds, a mischievous smile appearing on his face.

The tales are legendary and range from Romanov faxing team sheets from Kaunas and offering advice on substitutions via telephone.

At various times, he has also ordered that certain players be left out when their inclusion would not normally be in doubt.

'It is very difficult to deliver my mentality and ideas to someone who has his own,' says Romanov bluntly.

'My thinking was always about the long-term future but the managers with their short-term goals are always creating situations that may lead to certain conflicts or misunderstandings.

'The manager is similar to a player in the team. There is a manager who manages the player but there must be someone who manages the manager, too.
Hearts beat: John McGlynn is the current manager at Tynecastle

Hearts beat: John McGlynn is the current manager at Tynecastle

'If there is a good relationship between the owner and manager, you have a good team.'

As with the babbling statements he sporadically issues via Hearts' official website, it's hard to tell how much of what Romanov says is serious.

'Maybe we will start doing basketball in Edinburgh,' he suggests, almost at random.

'We've done new things in football and basketball is completely new.'

Both the dancing exploits and recent run for office show that he is capable of surprise - his People's Party finished last in October's Lithuanian general election - but we'll take that one with a vat of salt.

Hearts fans have been annoyed at Romanov's continued absence while their club seemingly teeters on the precipice.

He insists he will be back but, with the away leg of the Europa League qualifier against Liverpool the only Hearts match he has attended all season, no one will hold their breath in the hope of seeing his head pop up in the Tynecastle directors' box.

'I think I will be back,' he states. 'A lot of circumstances can influence that, so we will see. When it's convenient.

'Supporters will think only of me along the lines of what they read in the press. But I'm really proud of them. They are investing money in the club and they are supporting their culture, along with Walter Scott and other great men. This is really a legacy.'

Romanov's own legacy is yet to be written.