Robson first to throw hat into Hearts ring

MIKE AITKEN

SIR Bobby Robson's willingness to work in Scotland for the first time has placed the former England manager in pole position to take over from George Burley as manager of Hearts.

Having turned down the chance to manage Hearts in the spring because of personal reasons, Robson says his situation has now changed and he would listen carefully to what Vladimir Romanov, the owner, might have to say.

"I didn't take the Hearts job before for personal reasons but my circumstances are different now," Robson said. "It's an attractive job and I left Mr Romanov on good terms."

Robson added the proviso, however, that he would only take on the manager's position if handed full control over team affairs. The septuagenarian insisted that he had never worked for any chairman who wanted to select or identify players. He said that the owner's role was to secure the purchase of players identified by the manager.

Robson, 72, will be in Edinburgh this week for the funeral of Johnny Haynes, the former England player who made Edinburgh his home and had a soft spot for Hearts.

Whether any discussions take place between Hearts and the former Ipswich, Barcelona and Newcastle manager this week remains to be seen.

George Foulkes, the chairman of Hearts, will be at Tynecastle this morning when he'll hold talks with both Romanov and chief executive Phil Anderton about how the club intend to recruit their fourth manager inside a year.

Following the departures of Craig Levein in October 2004, John Robertson in May and Burley on Saturday, Hearts must first decide whether they want to make a swift appointment and install a manager who is not currently employed by another club.

On the other hand, they could choose a more leisurely approach and take as long to locate Burley's successor as they did to appoint Burley himself. At that rate of progress, the club might not have a new manager until football's January sales were under way.

If Foulkes has his way, the appointment will be made quickly though not in haste. Hearts are conscious of not allowing momentum to slip in the title race and appreciate the need to appoint a new man who will enjoy the respect of the players.

Coach John McGlynn will be in charge of the side for both this week's fixtures against Kilmarnock and Hibs. Steven Pressley, the captain, who is suspended for Wednesday's SPL match, will also have an important leadership role to play until such time as a successor is appointed.

The post of Hearts' manager is thought to be the third best-paid job in Scotland with a salary of around £300,000. Only the managers of Celtic and Rangers, Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish, earn more.

Robson, of course, won't be the only candidate for a job where the stakes have risen considerably since the summer. No longer aiming for third place in the SPL, Hearts issued a statement stating they were "looking for a top-class manager who is worthy to be the manager of Heart of Midlothian and who will be able to achieve the Champions League place in the SPL."

Since the challenge facing the new coach is to finish first or second in the SPL and, at worst, split the Old Firm, it will take a man of considerable pedigree to improve on the standard already set by Levein and Burley.

One man who would meet that challenge is Ottmar Hitzfeld, who won the Champions League with both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. The German is an outstanding coach who would bring a wealth of European experience to Tynecastle.

Also likely to be mentioned in dispatches is Valdas Ivanauskas, the Lithuanian coach who won six titles with Kaunas before being sacked. The east European has been noted sitting in the directors' box at a number of Hearts' home games this season.

Nevio Scala missed out in the summer as he felt he needed extra time to learn English. Bearing in mind Hearts need a coach who can hit the ground running, though, it would be a surprise if the 57-year-old Italian fitted the bill.

Of the managers closer to home currently at work in the SPL, Terry Butcher has revived his reputation at Motherwell. The former Rangers and England centre-half knows the Scottish scene inside out and has earned widespread respect for the standards achieved at Fir Park with little or no financial resources. However, such a strong personality would expect autonomy in the running of team affairs.

Whoever succeeds Burley, one of the first challenges facing the new manager will be to persuade Craig Gordon, 22, to sign a new contract. Graeme Souness, the Newcastle United manager, was at Tynecastle on Saturday and there's speculation the North-east club are interested in the Scotland goalkeeper.

Palermo have also been credited with monitoring Gordon's progress and few would question the goalkeeper's potential to develop into a world-class player. Gordon, who has 18 months left on his contract, insists he's happy at Tynecastle and awaits the offer of a new deal.

Taken from the Scotsman