2005–06 Heart of Midlothian F.C. season
| 2005–06 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman |
 George Foulkes Roman Romanov
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| Manager |
George Burley John McGlynn (Caretaker) Graham Rix Valdas Ivanauskas
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| Stadium | Tynecastle Stadium | ||
| Scottish Premier League | 2nd | ||
| Scottish Cup | Winner | ||
| League Cup | Third Round | ||
| Top goalscorer |
League: Rudi Skacel (16)All: Rudi Skacel (17) Paul Hartley (17)
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| Highest home attendance | 17,379 v Rangers SPL 24 September 2005 | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 12,831 v Kilmarnock Scottish Cup 7 January 2006 | ||
| Average home league attendance | 16,767 | ||
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The 2005–06 season is the 109th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian. It is the eighth consecutive season of play in the Scottish Premier League in which Hearts have competed since its inauguration in 1998–99. Hearts also competed in the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup.
Romanov said that his ultimate aim is for Hearts to win the Champions League. His early actions included bringing in former Rugby Union chief Phil Anderton as CEO on 3 March 2005. On 9 May 2005, manager John Robertson resigned, a move which was greeted with much dismay among supporters because Robertson had been a great player for Hearts. Former Ipswich Town and Derby County manager George Burley was hired on 30 June 2005 to replace him.
As the season began, the combination of Romanov's financial backing and the appointment of Burley led many Hearts fans to believe that they could win the SPL championship in 2005–06. Signings such as Edgaras Jankauskas, Rudi Skácel and Takis Fyssas, allied to existing players Andy Webster, Steven Pressley, Craig Gordon, and Paul Hartley meant that Hearts built a team which made an outstanding start to the season. Hearts won their first eight SPL games, including a 1–0 win over reigning champions Rangers.
After leading the Jambos through ten undefeated SPL appearances, and guiding them to the top of the league table, Hearts and Burley parted ways on 22 October 2005, just hours before their Premier League match with Dunfermline Athletic. A club statement after the game declared that the departure of Burley had been mutually agreed and that there were "irreconcilable differences" between Burley and the Hearts board. Throughout his short spell in charge rumours had persisted that the relationship between Burley and Romanov was uneasy. It had also been reported that Romanov had signed players without Burley's consent.
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