Hearts set to sack Robertson

JOHN Robertson’s parting of the ways with Hearts appears imminent after it emerged last night that a meeting of the Tynecastle club’s eight-man board on Friday evening ended with a 6-2 vote in favour of replacing the head coach.

Robertson seemed to be a man resigned to his fate when he appeared before the media following his side’s 2-1 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox. After Hearts had earlier stated they would communicate on his future on the conclusion of this fixture, a spokesman for the Tynecastle club said yesterday that their discussions on the issue would continue at a meeting to be attended by Robertson and chief executive Phil Anderton tomorrow.

The Hearts head coach did not suggest that he expects to remain in his post. Indeed, he sent out conflicting signals as to how his five-month tenure at the club will end. "Due to the delay of 72 hours, I can have a long chat with my fiancee and maybe decide my own future," Robertson said.

That statement gave rise to the possibility he might consider resigning, only for him to then rebuff such a suggestion under further questioning.

"I would never walk away from Hearts," he said. "I have too much respect for the club, the players and the supporters. I’m going to be there on Monday morning to make sure the players have someone in charge to prepare them for a very important game on Sunday."

It is one that Robertson, head-hunted from Inverness Caledonian Thistle after predecessor Craig Levein’s move to Leicester City, is highly unlikely to be in charge for. This is a mainly due to his demand that his situation be resolved after increasingly widespread speculation that the clubs’ new owner, Vladimir Romanov, and his Lithuanian associates saw no place for him at the club beyond a June review of his position.

Failure to secure third place and so earn the club UEFA Cup participation for next season is are likely to be cited by the Hearts board as a reason why they will seek a change in the club’s football management.

As Robertson knew when he signed up to a two-and-a-half year contract, the past five months have effectively been a probationary period.

The rumour mill has been churning out possible replacements for Robertson from almost the moment he took the job. One man regularly linked is Gary Johnson, the former Latvia coach who has been successful at Yeovil Town. He has told friends, however, that he has had no contact, direct or indirect, with Hearts.

Meanwhile, Antatoly Byshovets, originally earmarked by Romanov for a senior footballing role before vacating the Scottish scene, is also believed to have ruled himself out. Other names such as Dick Advocaat, Terry Venables, Alexei Mikhailichenko, Alexander Starkos and Paul Ashworth are reported to have been sounded out without any denials or confirmations.