CHRISTOPHE Berra reckons Hearts fans wouldn’t swap the successes of the Vladimir Romanov era for anything – even though the club are only now getting themselves back on an even keel after the financial distress the Lithuanian businessman left in his wake.

The Ipswich Town and Scotland defender was part of the furniture for much of Romanov’s reign, a period that saw the club finish second in the league and celebrate two Scottish Cup wins – one by a 5-1 final scoreline against Hibs – even if they seriously overreached themselves in the process. Now, safely ensconced in the Premiership, and working towards full fan ownership under the steady stewardship of Ann Budge, the club are in remarkably rude health as they welcome their city rivals to William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round duty today. Berra, whose Ipswich side lost 1-0 against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road yesterday, will be sure to find the nearest television and cheer his former team on. As much as he admires Hibs’ style of play under Alan Stubbs, he feels Hearts will be too strong.

“When the club went into administration it didn’t look too good but, looking back, it’s probably the best thing that could have happened to them,” the 31-year-old said. “They started afresh, cleared the decks, had a massive overhaul of staff and players and they’ve done a great job.

“They’ve brought good youngsters through, brought a bit of experience in and obviously they won the Championship at a canter. Now they’re more than holding their own in the Premiership and trying to push to get that second spot. They’ve made huge leaps and bounds from the dark days.

“Going through Romanov’s era, at the start it was great, there was a lot of success. And I don’t think the fans will forget that. Finishing second in the league, qualifying for the Champions League, winning the Scottish Cup – so many good memories. But on the back of that were a lot of sad memories as well. There was a lot of money spent and things ended up going backwards. The administration, the debts, the money we owed people. But they’ve stripped it right back and it looks like we’re going to keep progressing from here.”

Like many Hearts players, Berra largely looks back fondly on his time in the Edinburgh derby. His record isn’t actually as good as he thinks it was, winning 43 per cent% of his matches, as opposed to the “nearly 90 per cent%” he claims.

But one memory does stand out: the Scottish Cup win against Hibs at Easter Road in February, 2009. Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen would accuse Berra after the match of exaggerating a foul, which led to the dismissal of Steven Fletcher, little suspecting that in 18 months’ time, the pair would be reunited at Wolves, where they became friends.

“The game that sticks out in my mind is the one at Easter Road where we won 2-0 and Fletch got sent off,” said Berra. “I kind of made the headlines after the game – ‘leaping like a salmon’, I think Mixu Paatelainen said. To be honest we don’t talk about our Edinburgh derbies much. We have had a few laughs here or there about the one when he was sent off but I think we have both moved on.”

This week of course saw Fletcher moving on again, joining French outfit Marseille on loan for the last six months of his contract at Sunderland. Wherever he ends up in six months’ time, Berra feels the move could provide the je ne sais quoi to revitalise his career.

“It is a great move for him, to the south of France,” said Berra. “I may have to call his agent. He is coming to the end of his contract at Sunderland where he has been unfortunate with injuries but, when he was playing regularly, he was always scoring goals so I’m sure he will do well there.

“I don’t know how long he has been at Sunderland but sometimes when you stay somewhere for a long time you can get a bit stale. There will be a different type of pressure over there but he has the quality.”

While Berra and Fletcher seem likely to be reunited again as Gordon Strachan’s squad aim to go one better in the hunt for the 2018 World Cup, another man who could come into contention is the centre-half’s teammate Ryan Fraser. The pacy former Aberdeen winger, a Scotland U21 regular, helped take Bournemouth into the top flight last season and could quite well do likewise for his loan side Ipswich this time around. Berra reckons, on form, he deserves a call-up.

“He scored against Reading in midweek and is a really good player,” said Berra. “Players don’t like playing against him because he’s fast and has a lot going for him. If he keeps progressing he’ll have a great career.”