Could Scala handle hurly Burley of Scotland?

FORMER Hibs star Craig Paterson believes George Burley's Scottish roots give him an advantage over Italian coach Nevio Scala in the race to become the new boss of Hearts.

Paterson, pictured below right, got an early glimpse of Burley's managerial potential when they played together at Motherwell and insists everything the former Scotland internationalist has done since gives him the credentials to take the reins at Tynecastle.

Burley returned north of the border after a glittering playing career with Ipswich Town as they emerged as a European force in the late 1970s and early 1980s to spend a season at Fir Park before tasting management for the first time with Ayr United.

And Paterson revealed how he almost became Burley's first signing at Somerset Park at a time when his career was at a crossroads. Paterson had actually signed for Kilmarnock, although the transfer fee was later settled by a tribunal, when he faced his old team-mate's new club in only his second game for Killie.

He said: "I went to speak to George after the game. He told me he had spoken to Motherwell about me but they were looking for money Ayr could not think about paying. At the time Motherwell were asking for £175,000, Kilmarnock offered £30,000 and the tribunal decided £50,000.

"I'd have jumped at the chance to sign for him because I'd been impressed by him both as a man and a coach. We'd played together for a season at Fir Park, we were a stuffy team, hard to beat and had a lot of good professionals. George was a great addition, rock-solid. He did a bit of coaching and his credentials were obvious.

"His coaching was always a treat, if he was taking coaching there were balls flying about all over the place. You always knew it would be interesting, something to keep you active, five-a-sides, crossing, finishing and the like.

"When Motherwell played Dundee United in the Scottish Cup final in 1991 there was a good luck message waiting for us at Hampden from George and his family, a very nice gesture."

Paterson believes the grounding Burley received in almost 20 years at Portman Road under the likes of Sir Bobby Robson means he shares the same sort of footballing philosophy as Hibs boss Tony Mowbray who also played and coached at Ipswich. He said: "It'll be interesting if the two of them end up on opposite sides of the city. The philosophy will be exactly the same."

While Mowbray has enjoyed a remarkable first season as a manager, Burley has impressive credentials to his name having taken Ipswich into the English Premiership and into Europe, no mean achievement for a side from the "backwaters" of Suffolk.

And although Burley parted company with Derby County in less than harmonious circumstances recently, Paterson insisted he has more than proved his worth. He said: "I don't know what went on at Derby but when George arrived at Pride Park they were near the relegation zone and in a short space of time they were in the play-offs. That shows he knows how to get the best out of players and also has an eye for which players to bring in. Ayr United didn't under-achieve when he was manager and I think there was always the chance that with his Ipswich connections he'd end up back there if the opportunity arose.

"He's obviously picked up bits and pieces from working with the likes of Sir Bobby and to take Ipswich not only into the Premiership but to qualify for Europe was unbelievable.

"I can well understand why he is in demand."

And while Burley has spent the vast majority of his career in England - he signed for Ipswich as an apprentice in 1971 - Paterson believes he is a more likely candidate for the Gorgie hotseat than Scala.

He said: "George will still follow the game up here quite closely. Scottish managers in England tend to keep an eye on things in Scotland.

"Looking at the two [Burley and Scala], George will know so much more."

• LIVINGSTON boss Paul Lambert believes it's a tall order to try and break the Old Firm's stranglehold on the game - but says Nevio Scala would give it a better go than most.

The former Parma and Borussia Dortmund manager has become the front-runner to take over the Tynecastle hot-seat and spearhead Vladimir Romanov's Tynecastle revolution.

And Lambert has first-hand experience of working under the Italian from his time with the German giants, with whom he won the European Cup.

But, while he warned Hearts fans not to expect miracles if 57-year-old Scala pips ex-Ipswich boss George Burley to the post, he believes they can look forward to exciting times nonetheless.

"Competing with the Old Firm is very difficult because they have bigger attendances and a bigger revenue which means more money for players," said Lambert. "But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't try or that it isn't possible. To do that you need to get the best manager you can and he has to try and attract the best players he can and see where that gets you.

"Scala has a great track record and has won things in many different countries so, if anyone is going to do it, why not him?

"Once a game starts it's more about what the players do than the manager but where a manager is important is in which players he brings in.

"And you only have to look at the list of countries that Scala has managed in to see he has a wide network of contacts and potential signing targets. That can only be a good thing."

And Lambert believes it is the challenge of trying to break the Old Firm's dominance in this country that could prove too tempting for Scala to resist. "He has always liked to test himself and that could be why he seems to be so interested in the Hearts job. Nobody can deny that taking on Celtic and Rangers will be tough.

"But when you have won what he has won you are probably looking for a new and interesting challenge."

Over the course of his playing career, Lambert has worked with several well-respected bosses including Martin O'Neill at Celtic, Craig Brown with Scotland and Otmar Hitzfeld at Borussia Dortmund, who Scala replaced in 1997.

But the man who has just taken up his own first role in management as boss of Livingston believes Scala is right up there with the best of them.

"He rates very highly with the other managers I have worked with during my career. He's definitely right up there with them," Lambert revealed.

"He has ideas about the way football should be played and he sticks to them. And why shouldn't he? He has built up an incredible knowledge from all the countries he has managed in and the years he has been in the game.

"There aren't many other managers around that can say they have won what he has and I would imagine the Hearts fans are excited at the prospect he may be their next manager.

"To be honest, it wouldn't only be good for Hearts and their supporters but also for the whole of Scottish football if a name like that was to come here."

And Lambert believes the Hearts' players too should be eager to work under the Italian, who made his name at Parma but has also coached in Turkey, Russia and the Ukraine, insisting he still

has fond memories of his time with him in Germany. He said: "I was only at Dortmund with Scala for just under a year but I have nothing but good memories from my time with him. He's a nice guy and was a joy to work with. His training was always interesting and upbeat and if you can make players enjoy training and forge a good team spirit that is half the battle.

"His philosophy was that the players are the most important people at the football club and I would imagine that is still the same now.

"He was a real motivator and if he can get the Hearts guys believing in themselves then who knows what they will achieve."

Taken from the Scotsman