Currency for change down Gorgie way

A FOOTBALL club that’s also a plc in crisis; a rich man waiting in the wings but no-one really knowing the colour of his money; the status of the players and the team’s coaching staff in considerable doubt; massive boardroom upheavals ahead; the mood of the fans varying from outright rebellion to sheer dismay.

For Old Trafford, read Tynecastle, and the latest instalments of the longest-running soap opera in Edinburgh’s west end, which, if televised, would blast River City off the screens.

The latest grist in the Tynecastle rumour mill concerns the shopping list for a new manager. According to chief executive Phil Anderton, Hearts have no-one lined up for the post at present and they are going to take their time to find a man with experience of top-level coaching who has built teams rather than bought them.

One coach who has all the right credentials for taking over and is definitely interested in coming to Tynecastle is Frantisek Straka. The former Czech international succeeded in turning minnows Teplice into a side capable of challenging the leading trio of Sparta and Slavia Prague and Banik Ostrava in his home country.

Straka’s last encounter with Scottish football came with Teplice in last season’s UEFA Cup when they dispatched Kaiserslauten and Feyenoord to set up an encounter with Celtic, which they lost 1-3 on aggregate, though they defeated the Scots 1-0 at home.

"Nobody gave us a chance in Europe, what we achieved was incredible," said Straka. "I’d definitely be keen to coach in Scotland - it would be a great opportunity for me if Hearts were interested.

"British teams have great mentality, but recent years have shown that European coaches can bring something extra."

Last summer, Straka was poached by Sparta Prague, a club which he once played for, and led them back to the top of the Gambrinus league. However, he was sacked in December 2004, for failing to qualify from the Champions League group stages, though it was a "group of death" - Manchester United, Lyon and Fenerbahce were the three clubs who finished above Sparta.

"We finished bottom, yes, but it was a very tough group," said Straka. "Look how well Lyon went on to do this season in the competition. We almost beat them, but they scored two goals in the last minutes. And we drew against Manchester United."

Since leaving Sparta, Straka has been nursing his wounds back in his adopted home country of Germany, where he played for many years with Borussia Monchengladbach and Hansa Rostock.

He has just completed a short-term contract coaching Ahlen in the German second division, but has made it clear that this was just a time filler as he looks for a return to the top flight.

Anderton has confirmed that Hearts have already been inundated with faxes from agents touting managers at them, though he would not say if Straka was one of them. Anderton also revealed some of the qualities Hearts are looking for in their new manager.

"We need a manager who is going to be able to take the club forward with the resources we have been told are coming," said Anderton. "It was a question of going for someone with potential, and John Robertson could have done that, or going for somebody who has already demonstrated they can do it, and we decided to go for the latter option."

Most of the questions that Anderton has had to face in the last week concerned the departures of Robertson and assistant Donald Park. Both men would still be at Tynecastle this morning preparing for the Premierleague clash with Celtic had not Robertson acted to find out if he had a future at the club. He may well have fallen prematurely on his sword in a selfless bid to dispel the turmoil which was affecting his squad, as new co-manager John McGlynn confirmed.

"The speculation was killing all of us," said McGlynn. "In this situation, we all would rather know than be in the dark and there were too many things going around so at some point it had to be out in the open and sorted out. That’s what happened and now we get on with it."

McGlynn has all but ruled himself out of contention as a name to be considered by the board for the full-time manager’s role at Tynecastle.

"I realise that this is just for two games," he said, "and the suggestion is that they are looking for someone with more experience, a big name, so I don’t think I come into that category at all.

"If I wanted to do something like that I would probably have to move to gain more experience, but I am very happy in the job I am doing," added McGlynn. As indeed he should be, with Hearts really now beginning to see the fruit of his work with young players such as Lee Wallace.

Certain to play today is midfielder Neil MacFarlane who emphatically discounted reports of Robertson having problems with the squad, though the manager departed without saying anything to the players. It was left to Anderton to talk to the squad about the situation facing the club.

"It all happened on Monday and we came back in on Thursday," said MacFarlane, "but we will definitely see John and thank him for his efforts.

"I enjoyed my time under John. I had a sticky spell at the start of the season but John gave me the chance just as Craig Levein did in my first two seasons so I have a lot to thank them both for.

"We were sad to see John go, and I hope he gets back into football quick as I believe he has a future in the game, but first of all we have to regroup and try and get a result against Celtic today."

It would be yet another twist in the Tynecastle saga if Hearts could dent Celtic’s championship hopes, just as they did two seasons ago. Regardless of the result, however, there is no such thing as a quiet time ahead in Gorgie.

Taken from the Scotsman