George Foulkes believes pressure is building on Romanov

The Lithuanian has been criticised by fans for the way he runs Hearts and his involvement in selecting the team.

And Iain MacLeod, who was involved with the group, said: "If the time is not here, it will be here shortly, unless something changes.

"I'm really worried about the treatment of the bulk of the Scottish players."

The Save Our Hearts group was initially set up in a bid to stop Tynecastle being bulldozed for flats under former chief executive Chris Robinson.

And Romanov was welcomed by the bulk of Hearts' support 18 months ago for halting that sale.

But the group could be resurrected as many fans start to blame the Lithuanian-based businessman for a recent slump in form and internal unrest.

If he goes on the way he has been going then failure is looming up Former Hearts chairman George Foulkes

"Either we stand back and do nothing or stand up and do something," said MacLeod.

"My worry is that we go into freefall and end up in a similar state to not so long ago.

"If we don't get back success on the park, the attendances will start to dwindle then maybe Mr Romanov starts to get bored and we're back to the state we were in under Chris Robinson whereby we have to sell the ground.

"Nobody wants that. Something has to change to get us back on track."

MacLeod leapt to the defence of the supporters after Hearts sporting director Alex Koslovski accused them of discrimination for booing Lithuanian duo Saulius Mikoliunas and Nerijus Barasa on Sunday.

"Andrius Velicka, who was playing up front, is Lithuanian and he was warmly received," he said.

"There are issues with Mikoliunas because he's not been playing well and seems to be a first pick.

"I don't know what the problem is with Barasa, but I don't think there's a problem with their nationality at all."

Meanwhile, former chairman George Foulkes has urged Romanov to re-think his running of the club.

Speaking at the launch of "Believe" - a book that chronicles events at Tynecastle over the past two seasons - Foulkes said: "There have been some inklings that he realises his popularity has plummeted.

"If he wants to be successful - not just with the club but with any other business ventures in and around Edinburgh - he needs to bring people along with him.

"People close to him have been trying over the last few weeks to get the message over that he has to take notice of other people's feelings - the players and the fans.

"If he wants success, he should heed the message.