‘Hearts always put me down,’ says banished Marian Kello

HEARTS goalkeeper Marian Kello yesterday hit out at key figures at the club, who he accused of “always trying to put him down”. Even before this outburst, Kello had seemed resigned to being frozen out of the Hearts first-team picture.

Now he appears to have sealed this fate.

The ‘keeper has started what he anticipates will be a four- month period of exile from the first team after failing to seal a move to Austria Vienna on the last day of the transfer window. He was excluded from the squad for Sunday’s Scottish Cup tie against St Johnstone, with manager Paulo Sergio later explaining that this had been the result of a “political situation” between Kello and the club.

The original reason forwarded by the club was that Kello had been suffering from a back complaint. The ‘keeper, however, made a point of warming up before the match at Tynecastle on Sunday.

Kello was in defiant mood again yesterday when making himself available to reporters prior to a press briefing ahead of tonight’s league clash with Celtic at Tynecastle. As he began to climb the stairs at the club’s Riccarton training complex he asked the gathering of journalists whether they wanted to speak about the “real story”, and then proceeded to unburden himself.

Several of his team-mates hung over the first floor balcony as they watched the player break free from what is normal protocol at a club where media arrangements are normally so tightly controlled. “For me it is very hard,” said Kello, who has kept eight clean sheets in 20 league matches this season. “I have been here three-and-a-half years and tried to fight for the club and everything, and they just try and put me down all the time. I don’t know why. I always try my best for the club.”

His surprise decision to speak meant reporters were denied access to Jamie Hamill, the player who had been handed media duties for the day. Kello expects to face recriminations for this act of insurrection. He stressed that the situation had reached the stage where he had to “protect” himself.

“Look, I had to say something because I have seen the mess that is in the papers,” he said. “I have to say something. I need to say how things are. That’s the point. They [Hearts] might do something to me, I don’t know. But I need to protect myself.”

Hearts and Kello have shared a complicated relationship dating back to when he was ordered not to board the team bus prior to a game with Rangers in May last year. The reasons for this have never been fully explained. Jim Jefferies, the then manager, referred to it as a “personal matter” between Vladimir Romanov, the club’s owner, and the goalkeeper.

Yesterday Kello, asked to comment on that first dispute with the club, said that he didn’t want to “go back that far, maybe later – we’ll see”. The goalkeeper was focused on this latest tete-a-tete, angrily denying that he was not committed to Hearts. He claimed he had not been offered a new contract and is being victimised for refusing to join Austria Vienna, who last month offered Hearts a sum of e100,000 [£83,000] for his services.

Asked if he felt he was being punished, he said “Obviously”. As the minutes ticked down towards the transfer window deadline, he felt he was being rail-roaded into a move which suited Hearts, but not him. “After talking to my agents, we decided that a move to Austria was not, at the moment, best for me,” he explained.

“The contract was for only 18 months and it wasn’t that good. I want a contract for a longer period. I am 29 now. I need to look to the future. And obviously I want to help the club with money, but it was not that big a deal [offered by Austria Vienna] anyway. Obviously my agents are working on something because of the situation here.”

The situation he refers to is one where he has again incurred the displeasure of Romanov. Kello was reluctant to refer to individuals, however. “I can say the board,” he said. “They are all together. I cannot specify one name. It’s the board who decided.

“It is said in the papers and everywhere that I am not committed to the club and that for me is totally nonsense,” he added. “The club signed two young goalkeepers [Jamie MacDonald and Mark Ridgers]. I have been told I don’t figure in the future of the club. I was not offered a new contract.”

He had been warned of the consequences of not agreeing to sign for Austria Vienna. Director Sergeyus Fedotovas told him, on 31 January, that he must expect to be sidelined, going by previous examples. Andy Webster, Marius Zaliukas and Jose Goncalves have all been treated in this way in the past after either rejecting new contract offers or having indicated a desire to move on.

Following Kello’s impromptu press conference, Sergio was asked about the ‘keeper’s predicament. “I said on Sunday there was an issue and the issue is clear: the future of Kello is not going to be at Hearts,” he said.

“If his future is not linked to this club then it’s fair enough to put others in to play because the future lies with them.

“This protects the club and protects the player, too,” he added. “Imagine tomorrow Kello made a big mistake, it would not be good for him.”

Kello has been linked with a move to Celtic. However, he ended speculation about this yesterday. Asked whether he would be open to a move to Parkhead, and all the financial security that entails, he answered: “No. You know why? Because it would look like I am prepared to sit on the bench in the Scottish league. And for me there is no point [in doing that].

He added that if there was a “50/50” chance of playing, then he might be persuaded to go to Celtic. “But obviously there is not a chance to play because the manager [Neil Lennon] likes someone else [Fraser Forster]. That is always the point to consider.”

Kello was asked if there was anything else he wanted to say. “If they want me then they should negotiate a new contract,” he said, with reference to Hearts. “Don’t force me out of here. It’s not like I don’t want to stay here. I was expecting something else from the club.”

Such as respect, came one suggestion. “Yes,” he replied.