Today news
2025-02-06 16:30:00
Rix complied. Andy Webster and Robbie Neilson were dropped in favour of Martin Petras and Ludek Straceny. Points were dropped in a 1-1 draw.
News leaked from a disgruntled dressing room and soon everyone knew who was picking the team.
Then Rix rebelled. Rangers were the visitors in mid-March and breathing down Hearts’ neck in the race to be runners-up.
“We were five points in front with five games remaining, a draw wouldn’t have been the end of the world,” said Rix.
“I showed him [Romanov] the team on Thursday and he scrubbed out Julien Brellier and wrote in Bruno Aguilar.
“Brellier had played all season, not spectacular but he won his tackles. They can’t all be artists, you need a few soldiers in there.”
Rix decided not to alter his preferred team for such a key game – but knew what the consequences would be.
“I told my wife this would be my last game,” he said before Hearts battled to 1-1 draw.
“I knew I was going to get the sack but I felt totally justified in what I’d done. Brellier got man of the match,” added Rix, who soon got the news he was expecting.
“Roman just called me in and said it’s not working out. We were second in the league and in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup!”
The first four episodes of Romanov: Czar of Hearts are available on BBC Sounds, with five more to be released weekly on Saturdays.
