Jim Jefferies to battle on at Hearts despite Romanov interference

JIM Jefferies has told the Hearts board of directors that he has no intention of resigning as manager, despite a fraught weekend in which he was denied the services of two key players by club owner Vladimir Romanov.

The exclusion of goalkeeper Marian Kello and captain Marius Zaliukas from the team which lost 4-0 to Rangers on Saturday led to rumours that the manager had quit or was about to do so, but Jefferies has since informed Hearts managing director David Southern that he will stay on. The 60-year-old, who returned for a second spell in charge at Tynecastle in January 2010, was furious when told of Zaliukas's enforced omission as the team bus was about to leave for Ibrox. With Andy Webster having failed a fitness test and Ismael Bouzid suspended, Zaliukas was the only recognised centre-half available to him.

Things would become worse during the match when Eggert Jonsson, who had been selected to play in central defence alongside Adrian Mrowiec, was sent off by referee Iain Brines.

The defeat, combined with Dundee United's win over Motherwell the same afternoon, left Hearts still needing a point to clinch third place in the SPL. Ironically given that sending-off, Hearts sources have since said that Romanov's reason for ordering Zaliukas to be left out was to protect him from Brines. The Lithuanian businessman is said to have recalled that Brines had sent off five Hearts players in recent years, and is still angered by the dismissal of Zaliukas in a game against Aberdeen.

Zaliukas was sent off in the last Edinburgh derby, and was also shown a red card in a 2008 match following a clash with Aberdeen forward Lee Miller, who was widely seen as the player who should have been subjected to disciplinary action. Craig Gordon and Takis Fyssas were also dismissed by Brines back in the 2005-06 season, while Jonsson was also dismissed - again, in a game with Rangers - in 2010.

Hearts will not associate themselves publicly with Romanov's assessment of Brines as any criticism from them of a match official would leave them open to punishment by the Scottish Football Association. A direct statement from Romanov could also incur such a penalty, as a recent rules revision by the SFA extended their legislative reach to include anyone who, although not an office-bearer of a club, still played a major role in it.

Romanov has yet to explain to Jefferies or to other club officials why he excluded Zaliukas from the team on Saturday while allowing Jonsson to play. Nor has he explained what lies behind his continuing action against Kello, whom Jefferies regards as one of the outstanding players in the SPL this season.

The goalkeeper's original omission from the team was ascribed to a back problem, an explanation which was accepted initially as he has had several such minor injuries. More recently, however, Jefferies revealed that it was because of a "personal matter" which is understood to concern Kello's relationship with Romanov.

The issue had seemed to be resolved when Kello was restored to the team last month, but he has since been dropped again at the behest of the majority shareholder.

Kello was one of the recipients of an award at Sunday night's Player Of The Year ceremony at Tynecastle, an event which was attended by Jefferies and most of his players.

Having had more than 24 hours by that time to assess Romanov's decree on team selection, the manager was in a more philosophical mood. He is said to have explained to Southern that, no matter how frustrated he felt on Saturday, he felt better after some rest and reflection.

Romanov is expected to be in Edinburgh tomorrow night for the club's SPL game against Celtic. Hearts will be assured of third by the time that match kicks off if Dundee United fail to beat Rangers tonight. If United win at Ibrox, as they did at the start of last month in an extraordinary 3-2 triumph, Hearts will still need a point against Neil Lennon's team. If United and Celtic win over the next two nights, Hearts will then need to avoid defeat at Tannadice in the final game of the season on Sunday.