Hearts skipper admits player 'unrest'

Hearts captain Steven Pressley has revealed "significant unrest" within the playing squad ahead of Saturday's Bank of Scotland Premier League visit of Dunfermline.

Tynecastle head coach Valdas Ivanauskas stepped down for a fortnight earlier this week due to ill health. Football consultant Eduard Malofeev will take charge of the team for the visit of the Pars. However, the playing squad have now voiced their disquiet with the Hearts hierarchy under the governance of majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.

Flanked by goalkeeper Craig Gordon and midfielder Paul Hartley, Pressley said: "This is a statement on behalf of a number of the players. This statement is no reflection on Eduard, who, from my initial impressions, seems a very honest and diligent man."

He added: "I would like to wish Valdas a speedy recovery, but whether he returns or not is almost incidental in relation to the problems associated with this football club.

"I have tried along with the coaching staff and certain colleagues to implement the correct values and disciplines, but it has become an impossible task.

"There is only so much a coaching staff, a captain and certain colleagues can do without the full backing, direction and coherence of the manager and those running the football club.

"While, publicly, I have expressed the need for unity behind the scenes, I have made my concerns abundantly clear.

"The last two years have been very testing for the players.

"Together, we have faced a number of challenges and worked hard at retaining some degree of unity.

"However, due to the circumstances, morale, understandably, is not good and there is significant unrest within the dressing room."