Hearts put decision on Paulo Sergio contract on hold until next month

By STUART BATHGATE
Published on Friday 11 May 2012 00:04

HEARTS manager Paulo Sergio’s future at Tynecastle will not be decided until next month, club director Sergejus Fedotovas has confirmed.

The Portuguese boss, who succeeded Jim Jefferies just after the start of the season, began talks about an extension to his current one-year contract several weeks ago. He has always stated that he wants to stay on, and last week said that he was waiting for the club to make the next move.

“We are having discussions at the moment,” Fedotovas said yesterday. “We are in the midst of going through a number of things, reviewing our budget and speaking to Paulo Sergio.

“We are looking at options, looking at what are his preferences and trying to find the best solution. It is a work in progress.

“We are really keen to find a solution and to find a deal. It’s about timing.

“We have discussed that, in his interests and in our interests, it is some time in June that we need to take a final decision. That is the time when it is important for both parties to come to some sort of solution.”

Hearts plan to operate on a substantially reduced budget next season and have already begun to make plans for a smaller playing squad. Key midfielder Ian Black has been told he will not be offered a new contract and several other players who are out of contract are also expected to move on.

The scale of cuts Hearts have to make will be decided to an extent by the level of income they expect next season, and qualification for the Europa League could have a significant impact on that. Hearts will make it into Europe if they finish fifth in the SPL, which they can ensure if they take a point in their final league match at Celtic Park tomorrow, or if they win the Scottish Cup final against Hibs next Saturday.

When questioned on the issue last week, Sergio refused to be drawn on whether the results of his team’s last two matches this season would have an influence on his being offered a new contract. If Hearts do win the cup, however, it will do his employment prospects no harm.

Meanwhile, Hearts announced yesterday that their allocation for the final is now completely sold out. The club, like Hibs, received 20,000 tickets to put on sale, and the last one was bought yesterday afternoon by supporter Rena Smith of Edinburgh.

Taken from the Scotsman