Johnson unhappy with Hearts

Lee Johnson has hinted his face did not fit with Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov.

Lee Johnson has hinted he was forced out of Hearts because his face did not fit with owner Vladimir Romanov.

The midfielder has been reunited with his father Gary at Bristol City, after only joining Hearts in January.

But Johnson was restricted to just five appearances for The Jambos and played just once after Graham Rix's departure as manager.

The 25-year-old admits it is a strange situation at Tynecastle and intimated players have to be favoured by Romanov to get selected.

"I think the situation at Hearts is unique and I will leave you to speculate about that," Johnson told the Daily Record.

"I think if I was Maradona, I wasn't going to play at Hearts.

"I was playing with a club at Champions League level and, to be honest, I felt I was good enough to play in the team, but for whatever reason I didn't."

And when quizzed on whether he would have played more often if Rix had stayed on, Johnson replied: "It depends if he was picking the team or not."