Belarussian national coach Yuri Puntus has declared no allegiance to Romanov

Belarussian national coach Yuri Puntus has declared no allegiance to Romanov over the midfield pair of Vyacheslav Hleb and Oleg Strahanovich.

Both players have prospective moves to Hearts hanging in the balance but will firstly be required to satisfy Home Office regulations by playing 75 per cent of international matches for Belarus. Failing to do so would likely see them denied UK work permits.

Romanov's financing of the Belarussian side MTZ Ripo enabled him to forge a close relationship with Puntus during the coach's tenure at the Minsk club. But Puntus is adamant that his decisions and team selection as national coach will not be influenced by the predicaments of Hleb and Strahanovich.

He said: "I'll be honest, this situation exists. But I control it. Certainly, internet comments which hint that I have material interest in this are nonsense.

"In football, just like everyday life, we must help each other. Players help the manager, manager helps them. I'm sure of this. If I can achieve positive results with the national team and at the same time help those boys get work permits, what's wrong with that?

"I trust in these players, I value them because they can bring results. They are reliable, they won't let me down. But if I feel that Strahanovich and Hleb are out of form and can't help the team I won't play them. The result of the national team is above everything."

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