Hartley's Hearts fears

Hearts rebel Paul Hartley admits he fears for his future at the club after the players' revolt.

The Scotland midfielder backed Tynecastle skipper Steven Pressley in his public declaration of unrest behind the scenes under Vladimir Romanov.

Lithuanian owner Romanov threatened to sell his players to Dunfermline or Kilmarnock if they did not defeat The Pars on Saturday.

Despite an early goal from Andrius Velicka, Jim Hamilton equalised for Athletic, and Hartley has tried to maintain a sense of humour in the face of such uncertainty.

"It's very serious if he is going to make these statements. There's not a lot we can do. He got his point across and he will stick by it," Hartley told the Daily Record.

"What he said raised a few eyebrows. Certain players are not happy with it but he has the right to say what he did.

"I'm not sure what will happen now and if the team will stay together. I hope it does but it won't be our decision. If I'm sold I'd prefer to go to Kilmarnock as it's closer to my house."

Eduard Malofeev took charge of the team at the weekend amidst speculation that absent boss Valdas Ivanauskas could be the next managerial departure at Tynecastle.

Hartley is adamant he stands by the players' statement though, as the team look to mount a serious challenge to Celtic in the league.

"Over the last couple of days we have discussed certain things and felt we had to get our point across about certain things we were unhappy about. It had to be done.

"We discussed it, a lot of thought went into it. We knew the circumstances. We adopted our position and we'll stick by it.

"I don't know about other players but I've felt a certain frustration for a long time.

"We want stability at the club and it's not a good thing changing managers all the time. You also need a group of players who are pulling in the same direction.

"We're here to win games. We want to win silverware. Hopefully we can get back to trying to win football matches, which is the most important thing for the club."

Hearts face the league leaders and champions Celtic next, in a crunch match at Celtic Park on Saturday.