After only four months in the job Hearts head coach Graham Rix has been sacked by the Edinburgh club with "immediate effect".

Since taking over from George Burley, who was surprisingly sacked last November after steering the club to the top of the Scottish Premier League, Rix's role as head coach was never clear as Russian owner Vladimir Romanov was instrumental in picking the team.

It emerged that the Russian picked the team for the game against Dundee United, which led to a player revolt and further undermined Rix.

Romanov said: "We have been disappointed with the performance of the team. Results were not what they should have been."

Valdas Ivanauskas has been appointed interim first-team coach until the end of the season.