VLADIMIR ROMANOV is facing a summer of negotiations that would embarrass Del Boy Trotter as he attempts to furnish Hearts with the provisions for SPL success. Like most clubs during the closing weeks of the domestic campaign, strategies for next season are already being formulated at Tynecastle. In some instances, they are already close to fruition.
Season 2006/07 has been proclaimed by the club hierarchy as a transition period despite encouraging results like Sunday's 3-1 victory at Parkhead, but in fact the comings and goings have yet to properly commence. New incoming transfers and loan deals
are a certainty for next season, several of the current playing squad will be made surplus to requirements, and there is the added complication of loanees returning from various locations around the globe. All in a summer's work for the majority shareholder.
Those close to Romanov confirm he is scouring to recruit a new goalkeeper, a defensive midfielder and a striker for his intended assault on the SPL title next year. He also hopes to consummate Larry Kingston's transfer from Terek Grozny whilst filling out UK work permit applications for Vyacheslav Hleb, Oleg Strahanovich and Pascal Mendy. Gogita Gogua, the Spartak Nalchik midfielder who was refused a work permit to join Hearts in January, is also still on the radar.
Another new head coach is imminent given that present incumbent Anatoli Korobochka has little desire to hold the post on a long-term basis. Pierre Littbarski, the German World Cup winner, is not a contender, however. "At this time the question of the coach is most important to me," said Romanov recently. The workload involved in planning such an overhaul would tax even the most competent of individuals but the Russian businessman is a shrewd delegator.
Consequently, it shouldn't be a surprise to see steam emanating from the ears of Pedro Lopez, Hearts' director of infrastructure and the man who conducts signing negotiations in Edinburgh on Romanov's behalf.
"We know we have good players but, like any club, we're looking to add to that," says assistant coach Stephen Frail, pictured right. "Mr Romanov is aware of the people we've mentioned because Anatoli and I had a good discussion with him about all aspects of the football side."
The need for a new "sitter" in midfield arises from Julien Brellier's imminent departure. Southampton manager George Burley remains an admirer of Brellier's competitive streak having brought him to Hearts in August 2005, but a return home or to Italy is more probable for the Frenchman.
He and Greek defender Takis Fyssas confirmed at a sponsors' function last week that they will leave Edinburgh next month when their contracts expire. Romanov expects captain Craig Gordon to follow suit, therefore a new goalkeeper would also become a priority.
The £100,000 fee agreed with Bristol City for Michal Pospisil in January means the Czech's long-term future at Tynecastle would appear questionable at best even though the transfer did not materialise. It is currently unknown if there is to be a place next season for Lithuanian winger Deividas Cesnauskis, likewise Robbie Neilson and Edgaras Jankauskas.
Juho Makela stressed to the Evening News last week a desire to return from his loan period with FC Thun in Switzerland and challenge for first-team involvement during pre-season. And, after Sporting Lisbon sold their part ownership in Mauricio Pinilla, the mercurial forward is also contractually obliged come June to get himself back to Edinburgh from South America, where he is on loan at Universidad de Chile.
Murmurs of Pinilla returning would excite any Tynecastle regular mindful of the startling impact he made last autumn. Italian giants Inter Milan retain a 50 per cent stake in the striker along with Hearts, but their interest is purely financial as they eventually hope to recoup a portion of the £1.25million he cost them from Sporting in 2003.
"I have cancelled my contract with Sporting Lisbon and I will continue to be tied to Hearts," Pinilla told Chilean media. "I'm 50 per cent Inter and 50 per cent Hearts. I must thank Hearts that they let me play on loan in Chile until June. This is the best solution for me. I get the chance to play in Chile. I've suffered a lot recently. I've had depression and panic attacks but the doctors believe I'm okay now. I plan to re-launch my career and return to Hearts in a positive manner."
Frail is remaining impassive on Pinilla's complex situation as he concerns himself only with trying to guide Hearts into the UEFA Cup. "To be honest, I don't know what's going on with him. We have more important things to worry about at the moment," says Frail.
"If Mauricio comes back then fine, he's a good player and a dangerous striker. But we have to focus on what we are doing at present because that is far more important. Whatever happens with Mauricio will happen. I'm sure the people higher up at Tynecastle will decide. If he comes back to the club then he'll obviously come back into contention. I don't know his contract situation or our position with the club in Chile."
Pinilla's agreement would appear fundamentally similar to the one Romanov negotiated with Rudi Skacel. The Czech midfielder completed his loan period from Marseille last summer and was signed and sold by Hearts to Southampton for £1.6million within a matter of weeks. Pinilla's long-term prospects in Scotland may be uncertain given his unpredictable temperament, but if there is money to be gained then moving him on virtually as soon as he steps off a plane at Edinburgh Airport remains an option.
Certainly, there hasn't been a great deal of evidence from Chile to support the theory that the 23-year-old's mind is 100 per cent focused. After a television network broadcast footage of him in a Santiago pub alongside team-mate Jorge Acuna, he spoke out to defend himself.
"On my day off I do what I want and I don't give explanations. If I have a beer there's nothing bad in that, but if I took a bottle of whisky I'd be dying," said Pinilla. "I don't have to clear up anything, except that I was with pals and had a good time.
"It's a shame there being so many important things, that in a TV programme they talk in the morning about my meetings in a restaurant. When I came back to Chile I knew this could happen." Astonishingly for such a capable player, he also intends on announcing his retirement from football within the next five years. "I don't see myself in football beyond the age of 28. I'm tired of the profession although I have plans to work representing players," he said. Regardless of whether Pinilla features in Romanov's project for SPL domination, there is little doubt that major surgery on the Hearts squad is likely ahead of next season. Further loans from Romanov-sponsored FBK Kaunas of Lithuania could reinforce squad depth, and, to that end, striker Ricardas Beniusis has already professed his desire to join his compatriots in Scotland. He has now scored ten goals in the opening seven games of the Lithuanian A Lyga, netting in every fixture to date.
Romanov will be acutely aware of all of the above. After the demands involved in constructing his own A-Team at Tynecastle, the club owner will love it if his plan comes together next May.
The full article contains 1253 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
