Tynecastle Guessing Game

Strong rumours suggest that head coach Graham Rix admitted to his players on Tuesday that he was no longer picking the team, which has subsequently led to Andy Webster’s agent pulling out of contract negotiations ‘indefinitely’. So far no-one from Hearts has either denied or confirmed these rumours, however all the signs are pointing to them being true. If it was a load of rubbish why would Rix or captain Steven Pressley not make any comment? They would just deny it all wouldn’t they?

Although it’s still not clear as to exactly what is going on, there is absolutely no doubt that something is not right. The team selected to play at Tannadice on Tuesday was nothing short of a joke. You don’t just throw in two players who’ve never played in this country and who are out of match practice into a vital fixture like that. You most certainly don’t drop two ever-presents from a defence that has been solid all season without justification, especially when one of them (Webster) has been arguably your most consistent performer. I felt sorry for Petras and Straceny, the two guys thrown in at the deep end on Tuesday, as they really were on a hiding to nothing. Petras was even booed off the field when he was subbed which was bang out of order, although I get the impression this was more aimed at the decision to play him rather than the player himself. It just shows how disillusioned the fans are becoming though.

Predictably the rumour mill has gone into overdrive in recent days, with several of them pointing the finger at Webster, saying that his agent has gotten greedy and is demanding the earth to extend his contract, thus the reason he was dropped at Tannadice. If this is the case, why are the club not coming out and saying so? Surely they would in those circumstances – they would be perfectly justified in doing so.

The bottom line is, the people running Hearts need to start communicating the truth to the paying public – and fast. No-one knows what to believe. Yes there has been deliberately irresponsible reporting from the west coast press at times, but a lot of what has been written about the running of Hearts this season has been true, whether we like it or not. Unless Romanov and his people start being honest with everyone from the players to the fans, Hearts are going to blow a golden chance to win trophies this season. Make no mistake about it, they’ll probably never get another chance like this to win the league and/or the cup and it just makes it all the more frustrating that we KNOW the team we can put out on the park is the best in the league.

Never has the phrase ‘shooting yourself in the foot’ been more appropriate.