LATE in December, the Situations Vacant noticeboard at Tynecastle intimated that applications were being invited for a number of positions. If that was common knowledge, nobody outside Vladimir Romanov's inner circle could have guessed an entire side was about to be recruited.

The parading last Tuesday of five new signings, on top of three already on board, was a remarkable occasion in itself, but unbeknown to the media summoned to the club's Gorgie Suite, three more players were to be signed before the transfer window slammed shut at midnight.

Yet again, the Romanov regime had grabbed the back pages from the Old Firm. Whether all the frenetic activity at Tynecastle will wrest the Premierleague title from Celtic remains a moot point, but what the events of last week indicate is that Romanov and his board are in this for the long haul.

The 11 new players include a number of loan signings from Kaunas, but if they cut the mustard at Tynecastle they will be offered permanent deals to match the 30-month and 42-month contracts awarded to the other January signings. Regardless of what happens this season, Hearts are assembling a squad deep enough to compete in the Champions League.

Whether quality matches quantity remains to be proved, but no longer can the description of threadbare be applied to the Hearts squad. It was George Burley's mantra, even when his side won the opening eight matches, that he didn't have the playing resources to compete with the Old Firm. Well, now Graham Rix does.

According to one club insider, a staggering 23 players have been signed in the last 15 months - and that doesn't include those, like Paul Hartley, who have been offered, and accepted, improved contracts.

The only remaining fear Hearts supporters must entertain on the playing front is that failure to secure a Champions League place could trigger the sale of prize assets such as Hartley, Craig Gordon and Andy Webster. There would, after all, be plenty of replacements.

For a club with Hearts' debt, the prospect must be tempting, but again those close to Romanov insist that selling off the family silver is not part of the grand scheme.

As regards Rix, the events of last week must have been encouraging and daunting in equal measure. It says much for his relationship with the club's owner that he has been entrusted with so much new talent, but equally he knows his feet will not touch the ground if he doesn't maximise on the new resources.

Having one of his most loyal friends, Jim Duffy, alongside him on the training pitch at Riccarton will ease the pressure he has been feeling since being appointed to replace Burley. The 4-1 derby defeat of Hibs eight days ago also bought the former Arsenal and England player time with the Hearts supporters, but with an eight-point gap to catch on Celtic, and Rangers making ground to the rear, every match between now and the end of the season will be significant.

At least he'll be spoiled for choice.

Asked if he now had two players for every position, he replied: "I've got about three. We've got quality cover in just about every area and we've a couple injured to come back like Neil McCann."

A fortnight ago the debate was how McCann, still a current Scotland internationalist, would fit into a side containing Rudi Skacel in the wide left midfield position. Now that discussion has spread to just about every position.

Of the players who got Hearts off to such an auspicious start, only Gordon, club captain Steven Pressley, Webster, Julien Brellier, Hartley and Skacel can remain confident of a start every week.

So far this season, right-back Robbie Neilson has held off the challenge of Ibrahim Tall, but now he not only has tocontend with the Sengalese but also Lithuanian internationalist Nerijus Barasa and the Czech, Martin Petras.

The other full-back, Takis Fyssas, will come under severe pressure from Jose Goncalves, because although the Greek looks good coming forward he's not the most robust of defenders.

The right midfield position has been a problem for Hearts all season, with neither of the Lithuanians, Saulius Mikoliunas or Deivdas Cesnauskis, succeeding in making it their own. Samuel Camazzola briefly looked the part towards the end of Burley's tenure but since then has been as invisible as Tall.

Having splashed out a club record pounds-850,000 to buy him from the Belgian club Racing Genk, Hearts will expect Bosnian internationalist Mirsad Beslija to have as big an impact as has Skacel on the left flank. But the midfield is an area in which Rix's cup is massively overflowing, and he has an abundance of permutations, including utilising the tiny Lee Johnson, who had a clever game against Hibs.

Up front, Edgaras Jankauskas and Roman Bednar are injured and, with Michal Pospisil flitting in and out of the team, a huge burden has been placed on the inexperienced shoulders of Calum Elliot. In the short term at least, one of the most important January signings may turn out to be the Finn, Juho Makela, who arrived from HJK Helsinki for pounds-300,000.

The 22-year-old's record of 33 goals in 41 games for his club last season suggests he may be exactly the type of striker Hearts have been pining for all season.

"I have always been at my best when I have a target player with me who takes the first ball and I take the second, " said Makela, a 110m and 400m hurdler when he was younger. "But last season when I played with HJK I was a lone striker and can play that style also."

If Makela, who says he will need a couple of games to get fully match fit, can score regularly to take the pressure off Skacel and Hartley, Hearts' title challenge may not yet be over. Celtic's lacklustre CIS Cup semi-final performance at Hampden on Wednesday can only encourage a squad whose depth is now at least the equal of the Glasgow clubs.