Sergio keeps cool head to get Hearts back on track

Published on Monday 16 January 2012 00:49

HEARTS’ current run of five wins and a draw from their last six games has produced plenty of praise for the players, with Rudi Skacel the latest to be deservedly lauded after his hat-trick on Saturday against St Mirren.

But the man who has played the most important role in the Tynecastle team’s transformation is the one who would be last to claim any credit: manager Paulo Sergio.

The jury was out on Sergio during the first months of the season as he took time to come to terms with Scottish football. Being knocked out of the Europa League by Spurs was no disgrace in itself, but the 5-0 thrashing in the first leg reeked of naivety, while the later loss to Ayr in the League Cup mixed misfortune with miscalculation as the Portuguese boss selected a weakened side which was all too susceptible to an upset.

Yet, while Sergio himself would accept that he is far from being an expert on the peculiarities of the Scottish game, over the past month he has shown himself to be a past master in the art of man management. After a poor run of form precipitated by the non-payment of players’ October salaries, it was those players themselves who had to make the decision to put their financial worries to one side and get on with playing to the best of their abilities. But it was Sergio who played a crucial role in encouraging that decision and in supporting it once made.

He initially discouraged the squad from making a complaint about their late wages through the players’ union, having been told by Hearts director Sergejus Fedotovas that the money would be forthcoming if they tore up their complaint. It was a strategy which risked his credibility, but he was vindicated when the money duly appeared the following day.

At the time, Sergio’s actions could have been seen as what most managers in most businesses would have done: side with their employer and try to get the junior staff into line. But when the salaries were again delayed the following month and the squad opted to revive their complaint, he chose to support them. Quietly, undemonstratively, yet decisively. And once the players realised they had the backing of their manager, it became all the easier for them to return the favour on the field of play.

Football managers of the more traditional school would balk at offering such backing to their squad, regarding it as a sign of weakness. In Sergio’s case, however, it is a sign of strength: he does not feel the need to flex his muscles and assert his authority, instead preferring the collegiate approach.

And that approach extends to his dealings off the pitch, too. For some managers, the non-playing staff at their club just get in the way, and when business is on an even keel such an attitude may be understandable. What Sergio has realised at Tynecastle, though, is that when morale is low everyone has a part to play in the recovery, whether they play a part on the pitch or not.

When Jim Jefferies left at the start of the season, there were those at the club who feared the family atmosphere he had restored would go with him. But Sergio, despite lacking Jefferies’ advantage of being steeped in Hearts’ history, has maintained that atmosphere.

First-team coach Gary Locke has had a lot to do with that, schooling Sergio, for example, in what the Edinburgh derby means to the club and its supporters. A more self-centred manager might well have sidelined Jefferies’ former protege and refused to listen to him, but Sergio has rightly seen Locke as an asset not a threat.

Having only signed a one-year contract when he joined Hearts in August, Sergio could be gone in the summer – or even sooner if club owner Vladimir Romanov takes one of his whimsical turns and decides that things are running far too smoothly. Either way, given Romanov’s track record the only chance the manager looks to have of sticking around for the long haul is if the owner sells the club far more quickly than looks plausible at the moment.

Still, even if he shortly heads off into the Iberian sunset never to be seen in Edinburgh again, Sergio will be remembered with gratitude by many Hearts supporters for the role he has played in the most demanding of circumstances. If the club had continued in the poor form which began in late October and saw them win just once in seven games, they would have fallen out of the top six and could have become desperate for the season to end. Now, remarkably, they are playing for fun again.

Taken from the Scotsman