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Recently, a true hurricane shook the calm football life of Scotland - a businessman from little-known Lithuania not only saved the Edinburgh club on the brink of bankruptcy but also raised it among the favorites of the national championship, changing the long-established dominance of Glasgow and other teams.
Now one of the club's leaders Roman Romanov, the son of Vladimir Romanov who acquired the team through Ūkio Bankas, speaking with journalists stated that the reformed "Hearts" club has lifted the reputation of the Scottish league. According to the Lithuanian, players now more often want to stay in their teams rather than travel abroad to play matches.
Approaching the pivotal match on Sunday against "Rangers," R. Romanov also mentioned that this summer the Edinburgh team promises to keep all their stars - Craig Gordon, Andy Webster, Paul Hartley - and perhaps add a few new players. Acquiring new players would be a rather complicated decision, as the club already added more than ten players to the squad in January, making the situation very tight.
"We have key players and will do everything possible to keep them," - said R. Romanov. - Other players need to prove that they are worth being here. In the summer, we will be in a better position.
"Now, footballers want to stay here, but last summer we could hardly persuade them to come to Edinburgh. Now it's a bit easier. No one expected us to succeed because the team is undergoing reforms, but the players did their job well. After all, earlier everyone only knew about "Rangers" and "Celtic".
Only 6 points behind "Hearts" and experiencing not the most successful season in the national championship, "Rangers" club has already announced that in the summer they will likely bring in highly regarded French coach Paul Le Guen to train the team. However, R. Romanov is not worried about this news.
"We are not worried, as we expected that. The league has strengthened because more clubs are fighting for top positions, so "Rangers" and "Celtic" will probably spend more money this summer than before. But it will pay off for those who use the money more effectively."
Meanwhile, the club's coach Graham Rix says that in order to maintain the second place and secure the right to compete in the UEFA Champions League next season, winning on Sunday is almost essential.
"We have a tough month ahead of us, during which we will play many important matches. I am sure that "Rangers" are aiming for a spot in the Champions League, and that is the goal for both players and coaches. We are in a great position and intend to maintain it. Next season, we want to taste the Champions League experience."
