Rix relishing Hearts chance

PAUL KIDDIE

WHEN Graham Rix heard the foreign accent at the other end of his mobile phone offering him an interview for the Hearts manager's job, he thought it was his best pal Jim Duffy trying to wind him up.

Having sent in his CV to Tynecastle in the hope of replacing George Burley, it soon dawned on the former England internationalist that this was no prank.

It was around 5pm on Thursday evening and Jambos chairman Roman Romanov wanted the ex-Chelsea coach in London that night for a meeting with his father Vladimir.

At home in Southampton on the south coast of England, Rix explained the logistical problem of getting there in time. The Lithuanians, though, were prepared to wait for as long as it took so Rix jumped in his car and headed north.

It took just one chat with the Romanov's to convince him of the merits of accepting the post and later that night a handshake in a London hotel clinched one of the most unexpected appointments in recent Scottish football history.

The 48-year-old decided to accept the job without seeing Tynecastle or the club's renowned state-of-the-art football academy at Heriot-Watt University, facilities which have since simply reinforced his decision to kick-start his career in Gorgie.

"I was really excited as I know what a big club it is and my head was spinning that night," said the man who just days earlier had been talking to non-league Crawley Town about their vacant managerial position.

"I'd been going for jobs which hadn't really appealed to me as I was desperate to get back into football. I think I had applied for about 15 jobs but none as good as this. The fact that I applied to Crawley Town I think shows how desperate I was to get back into the game."

Rix became friends with Duffy during a season with Dundee in 1992 and the pair have remained close ever since.

Duffy joined the Chelsea coaching staff at the request of his pal and also worked as his No. 2 at Portsmouth. Hardly a day goes by when they don't talk and Duffy was one of the first people Rix called after learning of his interview, the former Hibs boss speaking in glowing terms of the opportunity presented by Hearts.

"I knew Hearts were doing really well this season and first and foremost it was the football which attracted me," said Rix, who has signed a contract until the end of the season.

"For them to be up there bossing Celtic and Rangers something has obviously happened which has been the catalyst for it all.

"The higher up the ladder you can get back on so much the better. I know it's a massive job. Jim told me: 'you don't realise how big a club Hearts is.'

"But it's great to be here and I'm really looking forward to it."

Rix spent a sleepless Thursday night with family in London before heading back to the south coast on Friday to share the celebrations with his wife.

Twenty four hours later he had flown north to Tynecastle to see his new charges demolish Dundee United 3-0.

"I liked what I saw, especially in the first half and that got me even more excited," he said. Rix met the players for the first time on Monday night at the Riccarton academy, where he explained to them that he wasn't planning on changing the winning formula which had taken them to the top of the SPL.

The former Portsmouth and Oxford United boss was then unveiled yesterday afternoon after taking training for the time and he admitted that Duffy had been a huge influence in his decision to kick-start his career north of the Border.

In an ideal world he would have brought the ex-Dundee manager with him to Tynecastle as his No. 2 but Rix realised that was a non-starter given the intense inter-city rivalry with Hibs.

"I trust Jim with my life," he said. "I spoke to him before and after I talked to Mr Romanov on Thursday night and he told me this is a great platform for me, a tailor-made opportunity, especially coming in as coach without all the other rubbish that managers have to deal with.

"That doesn't interest me. I want to work with players day in, day out. My strength is working with players and getting the best out of them. That is what I enjoy doing.

"I want them to like and respect me and I'm sure they will.

"I'd have liked to have brought Jim here. I respect Jim Duffy but I respect the Hearts fans, too. I have got to do what is right for Hearts football club and our supporters and I don't think that would have been the right thing to do."

Rix has been given assurances that he will have sole control over team selections, the thorny issue which is believed to have been one of the reasons behind Burley's fall-out with Romanov.

"I pick the team, that's for sure," said Rix, who will work under a director of football who is yet to be appointed.

"I wanted assurances about that before taking the job because if you're going to be booed or cheered you want it to be in your own hands. Straight away they said: 'That's not a problem, you pick the team, make substitutions and decide on tactics.

"If I do have to justify selections then that won't be a problem."

Rix's former Chelsea boss Gianluca Vialli is understood to be among the favourites to land the director of football position, although the club would not be drawn on possible candidates.

"I have suggested one name to Mr Romanov and he is very interested," said the new Hearts coach.

Rix gives the impression that he is still pinching himself at the opportunity which has fallen into his lap and there's no doubt the Tynecastle challenge has invigorated him after months on the footballing scrapheap having being dumped by Oxford in March. "The training ground is my office and I felt such a release when I got out there yesterday morning with the guys," he said.

"I know I can help the lads here but I won't be changing much. Maybe little things here and there but there isn't going to be a whole new style of playing. If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Taken from the Scotsman