Hearts: Jim Jefferies keen to see Skacel saga ended

RUDI SKACEL'S future at Hearts is no closer to being resolved, and manager Jim Jefferies admits he will just have to "get on with it" if his midfield talisman leaves.

Jefferies also revealed the player has expressed sympathy for him over the impasse that has been reached in negotiations between Skacel and the club's majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.

"The bottom line is we want it sorted one way or another," said Jefferies.

"He (Skacel] knows that too and he even had a chat with me and said 'This isn't good for you either, gaffer'.

"He'd like to stay provided he's looked after the way he was told he would be. He understands, so the quicker they decide the better. If he's not here, we'll get on with it."

The current contract of the Czech fans' favourite expires at the end of this month, but Jefferies is conscious that the player will look for a suitably lucrative offer to extend that deal after hitting 13 goals in 29 league games last season. Five years ago, Skacel had enjoyed a thrilling record of 16 in 33 matches and won a move to Southampton.

"I've learned players get to a stage where they know you sometimes cash in when you've had a good season," said Jefferies. "It all depends on how much he wants and how much the club offers. That's up to Mr Romanov to decide.

"When I've been kept up to date by the club about his situation it was that we had an option on his contract.

"I was always under the impression it was on the same basis as what he had when he signed but Rudi obviously didn't think that. He thought it

would be a deal which, depending on how he did, would see him get more.

"Whether that's too much in the club's eyes or too little in Rudi's, I don't get involved. That's for them to sort out."

Meanwhile, the Jambos have finalised their pre-season plans, with two friendlies in Berlin added to their calendar. The first-team squad, which returns from a training camp in Italy tomorrow, will jet out to Germany on Wednesday to face FC Ludwigsfelder the following evening at the Waldstadion. Then, on Saturday, July 9 they will take on Bundesliga 2 side Union Berlin at the 18,500 capacity Stadion An der Alten Forsterei.