BROWN: PLUMBER JOHN'S A PAL BUT I'M STILL OUT TO SINK HIM

JIM JEFFERIES and I had six fantastic years at Tynecastle and it will be with mixed emotions that we return tonight with Kilmarnock.

We've been back a few times since moving to Rugby Park but never with Hearts shrouded in such controversy.

The full media spotlight will beon the Jambos and we're just hoping to be the team that can burst their bubble on the pitch.

They have to lose sometime in the SPL and this would be as good a time as any.

We are a team who score goals - admittedly we don't always keep them out - but we go there with a great deal of confidence.

Trying to plot our downfall will be Hearts caretaker boss John McGlynn, a close friend.We go way back and when I was manager of Musselburgh Athletic many moons ago John was one of my players.

Jim and I later took him to Tynecastle and appointed him youth coach. He was working as plumber at the time and gave up his trade to take the post.

He's done a terrific job and I'm delighted to see how well he has progressed in football as he's genuinely a great guy.

I wish him well - apart from tonight, of course - and hope things work out well for him.

But I don't think the managerial job is a safe position under Vladimir Romanov as he fired five in one season at Lithuanian club Kaunas.

He's already dismissed two at Hearts so maybe John should start looking out his plunger as he might be needing it again soon.

Bizarrely, I was actually at Tynecastle on Saturday when word emerged of George Burley's departure.

I was standing beside Gary Naymsith, who was up making the half-time draw in the boardroom. Gary came through the ranks at Hearts when I was there and it was terrific to see him, again even though the circumstances were quite surreal.

There wasn't a great deal said in the boardroom and I think that was partly because Romanov and his group like to keep things close to their chest. It was a weird atmosphere.

The whole sorry situation actually brought back memories of my time at Bradford City when Geoffrey Richmond was the chairman. He was a bit like Romanov in that he liked to dictate everything A lot of chairmen are the same these days.They are in a position of power and they must have their say.

But Romanov appears to want more than his say.

There have been a lot of whispers in the game lately and it was quite obvious the marriage between him and George wasn't going to last very long.

But I'm intrigued to see what happens next.

George's record was unbelievable. In 10 SPL games he won eight, drew two and then allegedly got the sack because he wasn't playing football that was classy enough.

Using that as a yardstick, I don't know what the next occupant in the Hearts hotseat is going to be judged on.

What happens if results do go badly in spite of the fact the team is playing classy football?Who carries the can then? I'm pretty sure it won't be the owner.

The new manager is going to encounter problems but Romanov owns and runs the club.

He puts a lot of money into Hearts and if that's the way he wants to do things there's not a lot anyone can do about it

Taken from the Daily Record