Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov has hit back at former chairman George Foulkes for claiming he has lost interest in the club.The Tynecastle outfit sit a lowly eighth in the SPL following an emphatic 4-0 defeat to Rangers on Wednesday night.

Foulkes had claimed the slump was a direct result of Romanov's apathy, telling BBC Sport: "Vladimir seems to have lost interest and Hearts require a hands-on owner.

"He seems to have written this season off but Hearts can't afford to do that."

But Romanov hit back at those comments on Friday.

He told the Daily Record: "I would have thought a respectable figure such as George Foulkes, with all his onerous responsibilities in the House of Lords and the Scottish Parliament, had a lot better things to do than stir up Hearts fans.

"If the club was so well run with him in charge, why did it need rescuing?"

Meanwhile, reports say Edinburgh plumber Pat Munro has launched a fresh bid of more than £50million to buy out Romanov having failed in his attempts 12 months ago.

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