Paulo Sergio wants to extend Hearts stay

Published on Friday 27 April 2012 01:56

Manager 'loves club' and not worried by financial constraints

PAULO Sergio has given the clearest indication yet that he wants to remain as Hearts manager next season. The Portuguese boss's current deal expires at the end of this campaign, but he has begun talks with the club's board about extending his stay.

Neither Sergio nor Hearts appear in any hurry to bring negotiations to a successful conclusion, but he insisted he wants to stay in a city which he has grown to love since arriving in Scotland as a replacement for Jim Jefferies just after the start of this season.

"I want to stay," Sergio said yesterday. "So at the right moment we will see if that's possible or not.

"We are speaking about it, I am here every day, I don't do anything other than live a Hearts life. The other times I just eat and sleep.

"I didn't come here for a holiday – I work every single moment I can. I hope we can be happy at the end of this all.

"I am here, I am living in Edinburgh and I am not going anywhere, so every day I speak with the people here. I love the club very much. I love the city: it's a fantastic city.

"And I believe the fantastic people here are the main reason I feel so well here in Scotland. So at the right moment we will make our decision."

Asked if he hoped to strike a long-term deal to stay at Tynecastle, Sergio explained that he had grown accustomed to working in a sport where nothing was certain, so he was not seeking a lengthy contract. "For me it is hard to think long-term. I have said I am happy and I am being honest when I say this.

"In football, more than any other aspect of our society, things can change very quickly. Today they are very happy with me – tomorrow they may be very disappointed. We know the way life is in football and if you are not ready for that then you should change your job."

He also appears unworried by the possibility that, because of financial restrictions, Hearts might have to field a far less experienced squad next season. The important thing, he said, was to have a realistic target which took into account the strength of the playing staff.

"If you invest a lot of money to create a strong team then you'll fight for different targets than if you create a younger team to look after the future of the club. You can do an honest job with different targets but I see both of those targets as a good challenge. That won't affect the decision of whether I stay or not."

What has affected Sergio's desire to stay is the positive relationship he has with the club's board of directors. He put his credibility with his players on the line earlier this season when he told them he believed the board were working hard to resolve the club's financial difficulties, which had led to the players' not being paid their salaries on time. He is now appreciative of the fact that the board were true to their word, although he also insisted that the players should receive a lot of credit for the collective self-discipline they showed at a time when morale at Tynecastle was suffering badly. "I always believed our board was doing everything they could to put things in place. I was always very positive about that," he said.

"But we also have to recognise the efforts of our players because they have believed in themselves as a group and pulled together. That allowed us to get the results we have needed to keep people believing in the club. And we shouldn't forget that.

"Reaching the semi-final and the final of the cup has brought a lot of joy and some money too, which is important to the club at this moment. So we have to give credit to our players for what they did and the way they helped our board deal with the problems.

"I congratulate my players, but it's not finished yet. We need to keep playing."

Having begun their post-split fixtures with a 3-0 loss at home to Rangers last weekend, Hearts now face a demanding trip to Tannadice, where defeat would all but ensure they cannot end the season in the top four. "There are still things to achieve and I want us to fight for them," Sergio added. "Nobody should be disappointed if we finish sixth, because it was our target in the hard moments we had to live through.

"But, in the position we are in, we are not cowards. We can achieve a better place and we have to do everything we can to achieve that."

Striker Stephen Elliott is a slight doubt for tomorrow's match against Dundee United because of a foot problem. Mehdi Taouil could come into contention after injury, and Craig Beattie may play from the start, having overcome the heel problem which has nagged him in recent weeks.

Taken from the Scotsman