Webster left 'unsettled' as Rangers ponder bid

ANDY Webster's future at Hearts was plunged into doubt last night after the club confirmed the player refused to travel to their pre-season tour to Ireland.

Webster, 23, was the subject of an inquiry from SPL champions Rangers last week and while Hearts have insisted he is not for sale, the Scotland internationalist is unhappy at his club's stance.

No official bid has yet been launched by the Ibrox club, but new Hearts manager George Burley said his defender had been affected by the speculation. Alex McLeish, the Rangers manager, has gone on record in stressing his need for an extra central defender, and it seems he has identified Webster as that player.

Burley said: "There is no doubt the speculation has unsettled the boy. I had a chat with him and agreed to give him an extra few days off, but he should be back in training on Thursday.

"I want Andy to stay, and I've told him that, but if it was a situation where it was right for the player and right for the club then it's something we would have to look at. He hasn't had much time off over the summer anyway, so we decided to give him more time with his family.

"The club will not be steamrollered, though, as he still has two years left on his contract."

Webster, capped 14 times for Scotland, joined the club from Arbroath in March 2001, for a fee of £70,000.

The news came as Burley's Hearts career got under way with a battling 0-0 draw against St Patrick's Athletic. Webster's fellow Scotland internationals, Pressley and Paul Hartley, started the match as substitutes with Hartley taking part for the last 20 minutes. Craig Gordon, who also played in Scotland's last match against Belarus last month, lasted the entire 90 minutes.

Striker Graham Weir had an unhappy 21st birthday after he was taken off early in the second half with a twisted ankle, following a clash with St Pat's Vinny Perth. Weir now seems certain to miss the start of the season, and will be sent for a hospital scan tomorrow. Hearts play the second and final game of their tour tomorrow, when they visit Bray Wanderers.

Burley, the former Derby manager, said the match was an ideal opportunity to assess the strength of his new squad. He said: "The temperatures must have been in the 90s at times, but apart from the one injury the boys got through OK.

"These two games will give me a chance to see everybody play, which is the important thing. I was really impressed with Craig Gordon today, that's the first time I've seen him play and he's going to be an exceptional goalkeeper in the future."

St Patrick's dominated much of the first half, and Gordon was forced into an acrobatic double save within 20 minutes. The second period was a tamer affair, with the visitors' best chance falling to Deividas Cesnauskis after 63 minutes.

Taken from the Scotsman