McGlynn calls for Vlad to increase team of coaches

HEARTS assistant boss John McGlynn today insisted the club needs to hire an extra coach to cope with the huge playing squad at Tynecastle.

A decision has yet to be reached on who will be the Jambos' head coach next term although it has been confirmed that Valdas Ivanauskas, who has filled the role on an interim basis since the sacking of Graham Rix in March, will remain in the Capital in some capacity.

The Lithuanian remains the front runner to be handed the job on a full-time basis after helping to steer the Tynecastle outfit into the Champions League qualifiers for the first time in their history and winning the Tennent's Scottish Cup.

Despite these achievements, however, owner Vladimir Romanov has yet to reveal his plans for the forthcoming season with an announcement expected within the next week to ten days.

And, while McGlynn is on record as backing calls for the appointment of Ivanauskas, he has told the Evening News that it is vital at least one extra body is recruited to help with training the first-team squad.

"Even if Valdas is appointed I think we will still need somebody else to come in to help out with the coaching because we are short-staffed for the number of players we have and definitely need somebody else," he said.

"Valdas will be at the football club in some capacity which is good news although at the moment I don't know if that will be as manager or as a coach.

"But, at the end of last season, Valdas was taking the first team and I was taking the lads that were maybe not in the first 18 of the squad or whatever.

"It means we were drawn in two different directions and it makes sense to have another pair of hands on board. We definitely need somebody on the training pitch."

With Hearts kicking off their Champions League qualifiers at the end of next month and no new players signed up, the need for a decision to be made on who will be taking the team next season becomes more pressing by the day. McGlynn, though, is in no doubt about who should be handed the job. "I've gone on record in the past and will do so again to say that I would like to see Valdas get the nod," he said.

"He would be a good appointment because he knows the players and they know how each other works. I think that stability is the key after everything that has gone on."

Meanwhile reports today linked former Southampton striker Marian Pahars with a move to Tynecastle. The Latvian frontman was a favourite at St Mary's but has been plagued by injury in recent seasons and has started just 16 league matches in the last four years.

He was told by manager George Burley that his contract was not being renewed at the end of the season.

Dynamo Moscow striker Andrejs Prohorenkovs is also reported to be attracting attention from Hearts.

Taken from the Scotsman