McCann follows his heart to Tyncastle as Rix bypasses Beslija

Just seven years after leaving for Rangers in move that earned £1.9 million, the highest sale from Tynecastle, McCann completed his return a few hours before the club revealed that the proposed £850,000 acquisition (which would have been a record fee) of 26-year-old Beslija from Racing Genk of Belgium had been scrapped.

The capture of McCann, who turned down Wigan Athletic and Sunderland from the Barclays Premiership, will still be welcomed by supporters in the challenge for the Bank of Scotland Premierleague title by the second-placed team. The 31-year-old Scotland player, who signed a 2½-year contract after his departure from Southampton as a free agent, made a huge impact at Hearts, where he was part of the side that won the Scottish Cup in 1998. However, it is tempered by the collapse of Beslija’s deal.

The midfield player, who has 39 caps for Bosnia-Herzegovina, came to Edinburgh last week for a medical and has returned to Belgium to await news of an application for a work permit. Graham Rix, the manager, had spoken of “one or two little hiccups” when asked about Beslija at McCann’s press conference.

By the end of the day, the move for a player who had chosen Hearts ahead of Sunderland and Dynamo Moscow, was off. “Hearts have confirmed that we will not pursue our interest in Mirsad Beslija,” a club statement said. “We would also state that no financial agreement had been reached in relation to any potential signing of the player and we have now closed the position with the appointment of Nerijus Barasa.”

Barasa, a Lithuania international, actually made his debut last weekend as a substitute in the win at Dunfermline Athletic. However, his pedigree is not as notable as Beslija, which is why Vladimir Romanov, the owner, was willing to eclipse the club’s record £750,000 fee to buy him. Another source of frustration for Rix is that Neil Mellor, the Liverpool striker, has decided not to come to Tynecastle.

McCann, however, needs no introduction to Rix. They played together at Dundee in 1992 before McCann moved to Hearts and then to Rangers in December 1998, before his £3 million switch to Southampton in 2003.

“Neil is a feisty player and brings a winning mentality here,” Rix said. “He knows what it takes to be successful. He has experience, he can play in a number of positions. This is a big signing for Hearts and it shows that we are serious about our title challenge.”

McCann will make his debut on Saturday at Kilmarnock and will be the only man in the away dressing-room who has won any silverware for the club. Yet he believes that Hearts are even more capable of challenging for the title now than they were in 1997-98, when they finished third behind Celtic and Rangers but won the Scottish Cup, which is why he turned down five offers to stay in England.

“When I left Hearts to go to Rangers I don’t think anyone would have turned down that move at that time, but I did always harbour the desire to come back,” he said yesterday. “When Hearts came in and made their interest known there was only one place I wanted to go and I’m so pleased it’s gone through.

“I could have gone to the Premiership but I had such a good time here before, although it only lasted a couple of years. What we achieved in that time was fantastic and I had a great rapport with the fans. I hope that can continue now I’m back. The time I had at Hearts will rank as one of the best in my career, and anybody who was involved in that side, which won the Scottish Cup in 1998, could never forget it.

“The lure of the Premiership was there and if I wanted it then I could have made it happen, but when a club comes in for you that means so much you have to take the chance. My first choice, as soon as it was known, was Hearts.

“I had six managers in two years at Southampton. I tried so many times under all of them but enough was enough. I had some injuries in my first year there but after that I was fit almost all the time and was still left in the stand on a Saturday. That’s why I asked to be released from my contract.

“I’ve been talking to Hearts for a number of days and it’s clear they want to win things and are putting the pieces in place that will lead them to success. I want to push them further. They have a fantastic new training ground, which is already benefiting them, and the whole set-up with Mr Romanov’s involvement is taking the club forward.

“There was some interest from the Premiership and a couple of clubs made attractive offers that would probably have meant more money. I won’t say I wasn’t tempted to give it one more try but the attraction of Tynecastle and the relationship I felt with the club was too big to turn down.”

However, Mellor will not be heading north. The 23-year-old striker is lukewarm about moving to Scotland, even on loan. “I don’t think Mellor will join,” Rix said, after negotiations had failed to yield a conclusion.

WALLACE MERCER

WALLACE MERCER, the former chairman of Hearts, died yesterday, aged 59, after a short battle with cancer. He spent 13 years at Tynecastle before selling his shares to Chris Robinson and Leslie Deans in 1994. He is survived by his wife, Anne, daughter Helen, son Iain, and by two grandchildren. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.

Taken from timesonline.co.uk