Marian Kello refuses to sign new contract at Hearts and is open to summer offers
Marian Kello is seeking a move to Celtic. Picture: SNS
MARIAN Kello has confirmed that he will not talk to Hearts about a new contract when his current deal expires in the summer, and hinted that he would welcome renewed interest from Celtic.
The 29-year-old goalkeeper was excluded from the Hearts squad against St Johnstone on Sunday as a punishment for not agreeing a move to Austria Vienna on transfer deadline day, and would ideally like to join a club in England. But he suggested that if Celtic had come in for him last week he might have made the move from Edinburgh to Glasgow.
“The interest from Celtic was certainly real, but ultimately they did not make a concrete offer,” the Slovakian international said. “So I decided to stay a Hearts player for now.
“But I’m not going to negotiate a new contract – I’m leaving on June 30. So I will wait for offers and I am open to different possibilities. I’ll see how it ultimately develops.”
Paulo Sergio said after Sunday’s 1-1 Scottish Cup draw that, as things stood, Kello would not be available to him for tomorrow’s league match at home to Celtic or subsequent games. The manager added that “a political issue” had been to blame, and yesterday Kello explained the circumstances which had led to his being dropped.
“At the end of the transfer-window period, Austria Vienna showed interest in me. But it ended up not being a successful transfer, because it was a last-minute proposal and I decided not to go for certain reasons. I got into trouble with the club for not completing the transfer.
“My current contract ends in the summer and I will decide what to do then.
“The club is for sale – the owner [Vladimir Romanov] has made that clear. Here you essentially have to look after yourself. The salary gets paid only after a delay. It is a difficult situation.”
That situation has not been made any easier by the way in which the Hearts board acted towards the end of the January transfer window. With days to go before it closed, they increased their efforts to offload several players.
They had sold Eggert Jonsson at the start of the month and were on the verge of agreeing Ryan Stevenson’s transfer to Ipswich but, with Romanov having decreed that the club henceforth had to pay its own way, they needed to raise substantially more revenue.
They wanted to sell Kello, David Templeton and Marius Zaliukas, or at least two of the three, and they wanted Suso Santana and David Obua to agree an early end to their contracts. They failed on all counts.
As a result, there is again a serious doubt about Hearts’ ability to pay their players’ salaries on time. The money is due a week on Thursday, but unless Romanov relents and releases some extra funds, it seems certain to be late.
The board could have reacted to their own failure by admitting responsibility and promising to learn from their errors, but instead they scapegoated Kello. In footballing terms it makes no sense for the club to rule its best goalkeeper out of action for the foreseeable future. It only makes any sense if you think like Romanov, and believe that once a threat is made you should carry it out.
Hearts staff put a lot of extra effort into raising the funds for January’s salaries, and hoped that a repeat performance would not be needed this month, so it is understandable that Kello’s refusal to move caused some frustration. But the sale of the goalkeeper would not have been enough: Austria Vienna offered around £100,000 and Hearts need more than double that to pay this month’s salaries.
They could have solved their immediate money worries by selling Templeton to Bristol City, but it is understood they turned down a bid of £400,000 from the English Championship club. There was a sizeable gap between that offer and Hearts’ asking price of around £1million, but more subtle negotiating skills might have succeeded in bridging that gap.
Zaliukas was also overpriced. Romanov apparently believes that the centre-half’s status as captain and one of the club’s top earners makes him worth a seven-figure sum in excess of the amount Hearts would like for Templeton. Other clubs do notshare that belief.
Getting Suso and Obua off the wage bill would have had far less of an impact than those hoped-for sales, but would still have been worthwhile as neither player has figured much in Sergio’s plans. But neither player was offered a good enough deal to make it worth his while taking his chance finding another club, with the result that Hearts are left paying two full wages that they can not afford.
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Comments
There are 177 comments to this article
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Hen Broon
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 08:45 PMDood....taking U apart is why we are where we are today...IE U seeking retribution. I gave you the opportunity to grow up today & enter adult debate...... u not suprsingly declined as although u r not the sharpest tool in the box U R clever enough to know when you are out your depth. One on to one u struggle....u like better odds when your wee gang rush to help U out. However not a big issue........what d'you think re SIR B being exposed as a blatant liar.....no comment.....there is a shock!
Dood
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 07:57 PM#174 - Torment! Miaow! Still obessed with the Special One as well, I see. He's not been around for, what, about 6 weeks? And still you can't get him out of your head? Dearie me, he must have really got under your skin, eh Tootles?
Dood
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 07:53 PM#167 - Thanks JJ. I was slightly concerned that my point had been missed. Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't expect that Hen Broon would have understood it for a minute..........
Hen Broon
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 05:27 PM#'172 Therein reflecting the 'educated' opinion of the vast majority of Hearts fans...realise i do not speak for anyone other than myself but I reach my conclusion based on what i see & hear at tynecastle....not a voice re VR must go. JJ ....i am not having a go & i am well aware my bull in a China Shop approach to HEARTS detractors is open to critisism but if you think for one second DOOD is putting across a genuine opinion re our beloved Hearts devoid of agenda then we will have to agree to disagree. Sir B (suitably exposed as a liar), The Speciall One(now dissapeared to facilitate renaging on a £2k debt to The sick kids because he called it wrong) ET AL have transparent ANTI HEARTS agendas fuelled by decades of torment.
Hen Broon
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 05:20 PMSir BRIAN.......come out come out where ever you are....you cannot hide for ever....i'm not finished with you....U R going the same way as the SPECIAL ONE ....exposed as a total ar$ehole devoid of any integrity.
MrJaffa
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 05:17 PM#167 - JJ - I may have been unfair, I took it as a criticism of Hearts fans for NOT doing these kinds of things. The point I was trying to make was yes, perhaps we could do these things, however where they have been done BEFORE a club either entered administration or were moved from their location they have NOT been successful in achieving anything. Furthermore, I can see of no examples where fans demonstrations boycotts etc. have specifically led to a change of owner. I totally agree that were Hearts to go into administration there would be a number of things that Hearts fans could and should do, but as per one of my previous posts, I personally believe that Hearts fans should support the players and the club, both vocally and financially, in the vain hope that we can get out of this mess. To me that is better than chucking it in and hoping Hearts v2 become a reality.
Hen Broon
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 05:00 PMBTW....the good friend JAMBO tax advisor did not work for Delloittes when u posted same....... to be a liar U need to have a good memory.... NAMED & SHAMED Sir B.........suggest u trot off before I expose you further.
Hen Broon
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 04:58 PMRight SIR BRIAN....it is time to expose you as a blatant liar. The CC sacked thread from NOV 7th 2011 ###Sir Brian Hine QC Monday, November 7, 2011 at 04:30 PM 81 ....''and another sad response from the man who knows nothing as en tax specialist fro Deloitte touche ross and trained barrister, trust me, I know a balance sheet or two and just because you feel what's written in companies house reflects real life then thank god your not running anything. goodbye ''........noe lets see you crawel out of that one !!!! Now lick your wounds & away you go son as you do not have the brains you were born with.
Hen Broon
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 04:54 PM#167 Yes JJ i think we got that....my point(Jaffas was different) was why should he a HGibs fan think that applies to HEARTS anymoe than Hibs. Without reserecting our VR positives & negatives debate (better avoided) I am sure that you will see my point that ultimately you measure your satisfaction with your team by results on the pitch. A barometer of same is attendances. Over VR's tenure there is no comparison between Hearts & Hibs . The foregoing can be challanged on the basis that if the relative sucess(NB: i am purely doing a Hearts v Hibs comparison to makethe point DOOD is in no position to critisise Hearts fans) comprimises the very existance of your club. HEARTS exposure remains a subjective matter(again U know my opinion & I will not bore us both repeating same) but if the worst came to the worse & VR placed the club in ADMIN then that would be the time to take control. Motherwell,Dundee ,livingston are all still here......does DOOD really think he is the fountain of all knowledge re what Hearts fans think or do.....does he really think that the 12000 or so of us that give up our hard earned cash are all total idiots that meekly follow VR without thinking about whats best for HEARTS? Rhetorical question...thats exactly what he thinks!
Sir Brian Hine QC
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 04:44 PM164 – Wrong again TOTT – you have been told several times, a friend of mine and a good honest jambo to boot, IS a tax adviser WITH Deloittes, I wonder how many people will laugh at you now who read this and then you still come back claiming I said something else. Dear oh Dear – Your grandchildren must be very proud of you, remember, always keep them safe, they’re special little people
Johnny Jambo
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 04:36 PMHen & Jaffa, I think the Dood was only trying to say that fans do have a choice and can take action if they don't like what is happening at a club and get up and do something. I don't think he was making comparisons betwen the situations.
Johnny Jambo
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 04:24 PM#150 HH thanks for that mate.
Hen Broon
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 04:13 PMDood.....you are struggling with your comparisons but happy to leave you thinking that is only because no one else is clever as you. Lets go back to the start . Why would HEARTS fans want to reform any more than HIBS fans? You critisise HEARTS fans for supporting the club & doing nothing else whilst ignoring a large % of Hibs fans abandoning their club & doing nothing else. How many of HEARTS regular 12000 or so supporters do u think want to sacrafice HEARTS as they are just because of VR's many faults? I have not heard one voice at any game. There was no protest at our AGM. Hearts did not lose 50% of their season ticket holders. what exactly R U doing re Hibs 'crisis'? 6th in all time SPL behind Killie(or at least u were last year might be worse)....2 seasons fighting relegation...... crowds dropped every year for the last 5 a total of 35% .......trading losses the last three years with a net loss last year & a significantly higher loss pending.....managers sacked....players borrowed. NB: aggressive abuse & what about HEARTS will merely confirm your arrogance & ignorance.
Hen Broon
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 03:31 PM#129 to be fair SIR BRIAN you also claimed you were an ex tax advisor to Delloittes & a struck off barrister & then denied saying it so hard to take u seriously. White lie bit a lie all the same.
Dood
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 03:09 PM#162 - You don't understand and don't see the point? Never mind then, sit back and enjoy the ride.
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