Big Names Indicate Hearts Interest

Vladimir Romanov’s spokesman (lapdog?!) Charlie Mann has told the Evening News that several big names have been in touch with the club about the manager’s position, including three former
World Cup winners.

Whether or not you’re excited or sceptical about the possibility of Lothar Matthaus, Ossie Ardiles or Berti Vogts taking over at Tynecastle, the fact is that these guys have still stated an interest in the position, even with the knowledge of Romanov’s ways. This would appear to pour scorn over the argument that no manager worth their salt would touch the post, although I will concede that neither of these three have exactly set the heather on fire in football management…….well, not recently anyway.

It’s difficult to work out if Romanov will go the Eastern European route once again, as things didn’t exactly go swimmingly well under the managership of Valdas Ivanauskas or Eduard Malofeev last season. However this has not stopped the club looking for more candidates from this part of the world, with Alexei Mikhailichenko and Sergei Baltacha both being sounded out in recent times about the post. Both also have experience playing for clubs in the SPL for a while, so at least there was a tad of logic attached to these approaches.

However Mann insists that the new man does not have to be Easter European. He said:

‘Romanov’s methods are similar to the way clubs like Real Madrid operate, so it’s not like it’s just an eastern European approach.

‘It’s different to the way we’ve been brought up in UK football but it’s commonplace on the continent.

‘Both Baltacha and Mikhailichenko have good experience in the UK, they talk the same language as Vladimir and communication is a very important aspect for him. Because of his interest in being involved in all areas of the process then communication is vital.

‘Under George Burley and Graham Rix, a lot of the discussions with Vladimir were done via Valdas and I think that was frustrating for them all. That’s the way it was. Valdas played an important role then in easing the process, although it wasn’t ideal.’

Many Hearts fans would prefer the appointment of a British manager in the hope of retaining some sort of identity, but although I can see where they’re coming from, frankly I couldn’t care less what nationality the new man is – if they do the business then that’s all that counts. The same goes for the nationalities of the players. However for those who would prefer someone from these shores, the names of Jim Jefferies and Neil Warnock are apparently still in the frame. Personally if it came down to one of those, I’d prefer to go for the fresher Warnock, as for me Jefferies has had his time at Hearts and a return would only be a step back for both the club and probably Jefferies himself.

One thing is for sure, they need to appoint someone soon to enable as thorough a preparation as possible for what will be a pivotal season.