The ex-Hearts captain trained with Sunderland today and admitted to being "partly" relieved to have left Tynecastle.
Asked if Vladimir Romanov is the man to take Hearts forward, he said: "He can be. He has a lot of money and a fair bit of money coming in. If they can use that to strengthen their squad I don't see why not.
"They are still capable of qualifying for Europe, which will be a successful year."