A good motivator and leader, says McGlynn

""He will have a great rapport with the players, the players at Hearts would have done anything for him" John McGlynn"
By DARREN JOHNSTONE

JOHN McGlynn reckons George Burley would be an instant hit in the Scotland dressing-room, claiming that the Hearts players "would have done anything for him".
Raith Rovers manager McGlynn was part of Burley's coaching set-up at Tynecastle when the Scotland manager-in-waiting laid the foundations for breaking the Old Firm's duopoly two seasons ago.

Before leaving Hearts in October 2005 after a fall-out with owner Vladimir Romanov, Burley had guided Hearts to the SPL summit after masterminding eight straight wins at the start of the campaign. And McGlynn reckons the departing Southampton manager has all the attributes to be a success with the national team.

He said: "I am sure he will have a great rapport with the players, the players at Hearts would have done anything for him. I think he will strike up the same sort of relationship with all the Scottish international players. He was a very good motivator and you could see on the touchline he was a very animated character.

"He was a great manager for Hearts and that is all I can really talk about. He brought in guys like Takis Fyssas, Julien Brellier, Rudi Skacel, Edgar Jankuaskas; that turned a team that was improving all the time and difficult to beat into a team that were all of a sudden splitting the Old Firm.

"Hearts not
only caused a stir with their impressive start that season, the Gorgie outfit also did it in style with a swashbuckling brand of football that left their opponents badly bruised.

Although conceding Burley might not be able to be so adventurous with Scotland, McGlynn insists it was good to watch.

He added: "He was a great man at Hearts and the fans were very excited by the style of football, it was very-attack minded and it was very fast flowing.

"Former Scotland manager Craig Brown also believes Burley's "first-class" credentials make him the perfect choice to take over the national team.

Brown had eight years as Scotland manager and led the team to their last major finals, the 1998 World Cup, before standing down in 2001.

"I think everyone in Scotland is happy with the appointment," said Brown.

"I do think he is an excellent man-manager, and a first-class coach.

Taken from the Scotsman