Former club chairman George Foulkes, who resigned on Monday after the sacking of chief executive Phil Anderton, said he now regretted ever having got involved with Lithuanian businessman Romanov, who has installed his son Roman as an executive chairman.

"I brought in Vladimir Romanov and I am very much regretting that now," said Foulkes, who admitted he had been "bounced" into sacking manager George Burley on October 22.

"Phil Anderton has only been there six months and done a very good job - ask anyone in Edinburgh, ask anyone in Scotland.

"Not only were we top of the Scottish Premier League, our season tickets had doubled and we were planning ground expansion.

"Vladimir Romanov is behaving like a dictator and if he continues to do that there will be a revolution against him."

Burley's sacking, which was triggered by a row over Romanov's interference in team affairs, was one of the most surprising moves in the history of Scottish football.

The former Ipswich boss had guided Hearts to the top of the Scottish Premier League with eight wins and two draws in their first ten matches and he was dismissed just hours before an SPL encounter with Dunfermline.

Burley's sacking came 24 hours after Romanov increased his stake in the club to 55 percent.

The club owner has promised a big-name replacement but Claudio Ranieri has already ruled himself out of the running and Foulkes predicted that former English boss Bobby Robson could decline any offer from Romanov.

"I'm still regretting that we were bounced into sacking George Burley," Foulkes said. "I think that was a very big mistake.

"I know Bobby Robson was lined up as one of the front-runners but I wouldn't be surprised if he was having second thoughts."

Foulkes added: "I've still kept my season ticket and I'm going to be there on Saturday. I think we should be there because Heart of Midlothian Football Club is greater than anyone and it's certainly bigger than Vladimir Romanov.

"I hope that someone else in the longer term might come in and take over but at the moment Vladimir Romanov is the only option."

Romanov took control of Hearts in January in a boardroom coup that saved the club from financial collapse and ensured that the team could remain at its historic home of Tynecastle rather than becoming tenants of the Scottish Rugby Union at Murrayfield stadium.

After sacking former manager John Robertson, Romanov brought in Burley but the relationship between the two men was always tense, with the manager scarcely consulted over summer signings that included Greek Euro 2004 winner Panagiotos Fyssas and Czech Republic international midfielder Rudi Skacel.

Romanov has also promised that Tynecastle will be expanded and has further bolstered his standing his fans with a populist style which has seen him travelling to away matches on supporter buses.

But it is by no means certain that the tycoon will be able to keep the rank and file on board, particularly if the team prove incapable of maintaining their stellar start to the season.

The managerless side suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday when they went down 2-0 to Edinburgh rivals Hibs, a result which allowed Celtic to move to the top of the SPL table on goal difference.

Hearts however remain well-placed to, at the very least, clinch a place in Europe next season, possibly at the expense of champions Rangers, a situation that would have been unthinkable when Romanov arrived in Edinburgh just under a year ago.