When the going gets Duff, the Duff gets going

JIM DUFFY looks thoroughly reposed and comfortable in the surroundings of Hearts' plush training base on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Well, who wouldn't after being promoted just a fortnight after beginning their new job?

Duffy's elevation to become the first director of football at Hearts surprised many on Monday, not least because the coaching tracksuit he first donned on January 31 was barely even warm when he was offered his new position. His new employers clearly harbour sound faith in him, as they do his close confidant and the man by his side at Riccarton, head coach Graham Rix, pictured below right. The work of both in overseeing and developing Hearts' football operations between now and the season's end could have a significant bearing on the club's future.

Then again, it might not. Duffy openly concedes the possibility of Vladimir Romanov, the majority shareholder whom he will report to directly, disregarding his observations despite his new title and continuing to operate a closed-doors policy when it comes to outside influence on top-level decisions.

In layman's terms, nobody has a clue what effect Duffy will have on Hearts.

But whether his presence at the club proves to be major or incidental, his resolute attitude and determination to carry out his duties to the letter should not be overlooked.

Common ground between Romanov, the millionaire owner of Hearts, and the man from the tough Maryhill area of Glasgow may, at first glance, be difficult to recognise, but undoubtedly both share the same ethical values which insist that nothing is achieved without hard work.

Duffy has already displayed this dogged side to his character several times over as a player with Celtic, Morton, Dundee and Partick Thistle, and as a manager, particularly through the most harrowing of times at Dens Park. The experiences have him well prepared.

"I've done this before," he says of his director of football gig.

"I've had to do it, like at Dundee when the administration came in. I had to be aware of all the financial aspects and in the past at Dundee I had to get involved in contract negotiations and youth development, because when you don't have the staff you cross over. It's an all-encompassing position.

"At some clubs, if you're the reserve team coach, you might also be the coach driver and the groundsman, who puts up the nets as well as running the team.

"You all have to muck in and I'm used to that. At the bigger clubs there are specific people for every role so you don't always need to muck in the same.

"Everyone has a role here under the umbrella of Heart of Midlothian Football Club. Eventually, and gently, I'm going to try to push it forward. That's all."

Clearly, Duffy is fully at ease with what Romanov expects of him. He didn't return to his home on the outskirts of Glasgow until after midnight on Saturday night after extensive discussions on his new role with the Lithuanian-based banker.

Duffy had begun his journey from Tynecastle along the M8 in dejection after Hearts' 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen when a call from Romanov said he wanted to talk. And when the boss declares he wants to see you, it's better not to keep him waiting.

"It was a surprise. I was shocked to get the call from Hearts in the first place about the coaching job last month, but to be made director of football came right out the blue.

"We spoke about me coming in as coach a couple of weeks before I actually started, but we looked at the schedule and the next game up was the Hibs game.

"We just thought that there was no need to generate any unnecessary press that week. I don't think it would have been particularly bad press but it would have been covered heavily. I decided it was better to leave it alone and not distract.

"That worked well because the team was focused and also had a phenomenal victory against Hibs, and I came on board the next week." Then, just two weeks later, Duffy was elevated to a position no-one else has ever held at Hearts, a position which has had European football luminaries such as Sir Bobby Robson and Nevio Scala linked with it.

"There is a lot more work involved, but I do exactly what it says on the tin," says Duffy.

"I want to contribute on the training field and obviously I'll be looking at all other departments, more intensely than I would have done before.

"I'll try and analyse and assess things, but the vast majority of what is happening at Hearts is very positive. Whether things are good or not, if they can be improved then that's something I have to look at over a period of time.

"I'll review things, collate my information and then sit down and decide if I can do anything to help take the club to another level. I'll give those suggestions to Mr Romanov and he will decide whether we push forward with my ideas or we ignore them.

"That's fair enough. I'll carry out my role as fully as I can but I don't know how far along the line I can actually take it. Only when I start taking ideas to him will I learn if my thoughts are carrying any real authority or not. But that's not a problem for me.

"This is an education for me. It's exciting, it's different and it keeps my brain working in different areas. I'm not just getting blinkered by football because there are other duties for me now, and it's good to have a wider spectrum of knowledge."

With horizons being broadened by the day against the comprehensive media coverage that has been attributed to his promotion, Duffy is now hoping for some respite from all the attention.

The former defender played the game in an era when a centre-back was still called a centre-half, and it is the similarly traditional adage of keeping the head down that he will use as his guide. "I don't need publicity. I've had enough publicity in my life and I don't need my face in the paper, thank God. This page should come with a warning," he jokes.

"I've had texts from people I know in England, some who are good friends, saying congratulations on getting back in the game. But I've been back in for a fortnight, it's just that the previous role didn't attract the same attention so people didn't get to hear."

Whoever didn't know two weeks ago certainly knows now. Hearts fans have been "extremely welcoming", but scepticism from others irks Duffy, particularly when it is attempting to find a flaw in his credentials for the director of football title.

"In Europe, invariably it's ex-players who are directors of football. For instance, Paulo Futre is the director of football at Atletico Madrid. Emilio Butragueno is in the same position at Real Madrid. In Germany you have Franz Beckenbauer, Uli Hoeness, and even up at Aberdeen there is Willie Miller. These guys have an insight into the workings of football clubs.

"I think sometimes it's only in the UK that we think a director of football should have a business background or something, but the work is all football-related.

"The first thing I will always do is give 100 per cent support to Graham and the team, and then I get on with my job in the background.

"It's not a case of ranking. I think people always want to title you and pigeon-hole you, but there is no-one more important than the manager or the players. After that everyone else is together."

In a season which began with the sack at Dundee, Jim Duffy has come up smelling of roses. Now he will strive to plant some seeds in the mind of Vladimir Romanov for the benefit of Hearts' future.
JIM DUFFY FACTFILE

1959: Born April 27 in Glasgow.

1978: Signs for Celtic as a youngster along with next door neighbour Charlie Nicholas but fails to break into the first team.

1982: January - moves to Greenock Morton.

1984-85: Named as player of the year by the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association.

1985: May: Transferred to Dundee but is forced to quit the game because of a knee injury sustained in September 1987 against Rangers at Ibrox.

1988: June: Joins Airdrie's coaching staff then goes on to become manager of Falkirk but leaves Brockville in 1989 after just missing out on promotion to the Premier Division.

1990: February: Rejoins Dundee and re-registers as a player but goes to Partick Thistle as player-assistant manager in June 1990.

1992: May: Rejoins Dundee for a third spell as player-coach to Simon Stainrod. Takes over as boss in August 1993 as Stainrod becomes director of football.

1995: November: Leads First Division Dundee to Hampden by reaching Coca-Cola Cup showpiece, where they lose 2-0 to Aberdeen.

1996: Appointed Hibs manager.

1998: After winning only eight games in his entire 13-month tenure, Duffy is dismissed.

June: Becomes youth team coach at Chelsea.

2001: Joins Portsmouth as assistant to Graham Rix.

2002: Returns to Dundee as manager.

2005: Sacked by the Dens Park club following relegation.

2006: January: Joins Hearts coaching staff and in February is promoted to director of football in a surprise move by majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.

Taken from the Scotsman