Rix takes up Tynecastle reins

Rix will be officially unveiled at a press conference at 2pm today but Hearts could be set for a continental approach under Vladimir Romanov, the majority shareholder, with the appointment of a director of football.

The club have refused to comment on the possibility of another new man coming in as an “overlord” above Rix. However, Rix will be officially named today after meeting the players for the first time yesterday at the club’s Riccarton training ground. “I saw them win (3-0 over Dundee United) on Saturday and I’m very excited to be working with them. It’s a massive chance and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” Rix said.

“There is going to be a press conference tomorrow and we will go into more detail then. But I am delighted to have met them and they are a good set of lads. I thought they were excellent on Saturday, especially in the first half. I am really looking forward to the challenge. I am determined to make a go of it.”

Roman Romanov, the Hearts chairman, last night urged supporters to give Rix a chance to prove himself. Despite his success as a coach at Chelsea in the late 1990s, some fans have voiced concern that he is not the high-profile figure the club promised would replace George Burley, the former manager. Rix’s conviction in 1999 for unlawful sex with a 15-year-old girl has also caused anxiety.

“Graham has a lot of experience with Chelsea, where he won six trophies in 3½ years,” Romanov said. “He knows what he is doing, knows football and he has great desire for the job. That is why we made the decision. I understand how the fans feel but I would ask them to look at his professional career.

“He achieved a lot with Chelsea. He had problems and it is in the past and every man deserves a second chance. He is hungry to be coach here and you can see it in his eyes. Graham has knowledge and the ability to make these football players better and push Hearts further.”

Rix became manager at Portsmouth after leaving Stamford Bridge but was sacked in March 2002. He spent eight months in charge of Oxford last year before a poor run of results led to him being moved to an “upstairs” role.

Romanov is convinced that Rix will be a success at Tynecastle. “Like a player, it can be difficult to find his team sometimes,” he said. “A player can be good, but it does not click.

“After Chelsea, he moved to other clubs where I feel the surroundings and conditions were not right for him. He can have a good communication with players. He is a very good at keeping them upbeat. He knows he can make a player a better player.”

Ray Wilkins, the former Chelsea coach who succeeded Rix at Stamford Bridge in 1999, believes that his former iEngland team-mate can be a success no matter what the circumstances of his appointment.

“As long as people have dialogue going on, then I don’t think there is a problem. It is very important to keep the dialogue. It is when the parties are pulling against each other that things fall apart,” he said.

“I have no idea what Graham’s brief will be. He is probably extremely pleased to be back involved. I don’t know the situation, I don’t know if there will be someone coming over the top of him or what. But, if that is the case and Graham has taken on board what Mr Romanov has said, then he is obviously delighted to be taking the job. He has the mentality, most certainly, because he did it with Chelsea. But it is whether the players have the mentality at the end of the day.”

Rix emerged as a frontrunner for the Hearts post at the weekend, while Sir Bobby Robson, Ottmar Hitzfeld and Claudio Ranieri had also been linked with the vacancy.

Burley left the club last month because of “irreconcilable differences” with Vladimir Romanov but with Hearts top of the table and unbeaten. Last week, Phil Anderton, the chief executive, was sacked and George Foulkes, the chairman, resigned in protest.

Rix, overlooked for the manager’s position at Partick Thistle in 2003, is a surprise appointment. But surprises are nothing new at Tynecastle these days.

Taken from timesonline.co.uk