Heart of Midlothian owner Vladimir Romanov has suggested that Scottish football ran a campaign against him and the club.
The Russian-born Lithuanian businessman believes that the media turned against him early in his seven-year tenure and have made life very difficult for him and the Edinburgh outfit.
Romanov was thankful to the people who stuck by him but was again scathing in his assessment of the Scottish authorities and press who he feels have tainted his name despite him bringing plenty to the Scottish game.
"The audiences in the stadium rose and the media called it the Romanov revolution.
"After the successful launch, the country's championship began an organised campaign of defamation and destruction of the club and me as the owner. It was like the hero turned mad but if someone abnormal beats them, what does that make them?
"The media opinion changed around and a campaign began against Hearts like war.
"For this purpose, a group had been created for their opinion and only that was published.
"It turns out that in Britain an independent opinion within the media exists only in theory. Opinion is purchased for cash, as well as rules of business, culture, sports, politics.
"Then I discovered the will to fight for survival. I choose to fight and called them monkeys. I had to fight on two fronts, with the media in Scotland and the way it perverted the media in Lithuania. When the only noise from Hearts was about late payment of wages this noise was repeated in Lithuania.
"However, when we won two Scottish Cups the Lithuanian mass media acted like they had seen or heard nothing.
"There was collusion between print and radio. I had to think not about results and saving the club but how to survive in the jungle.""Seven years ago, when I bought Hearts, we won the Scottish Cup and earned second in the SPL in the first year of my management," he told Record Sport.
