Hearts appoint John McGlynn
26.06.2012

Heart of Midlothian FC today announces the appointment of John McGlynn as manager.

John comes with a wealth of experience of Scottish football and his arrival marks a return to the club he served with distinction as coach for 10 years.

The 50-year-old first joined Hearts in 1996 and went on to enjoy two spells as caretaker manager in 2005. He was assistant boss to Valdas Ivanauskas when the Edinburgh club won the 2006 Scottish Cup.

John is widely regarded as being one of the best in the business at developing young talent.

He won the BP Youth Cup in 2000 with victory over Rangers at Hampden and during his previous spell at Hearts he helped produce some of the country's best youngsters with the likes of Christophe Berra, Lee Wallace, Andrew Driver, Andy Webster, Craig Gordon, Gary Naysmith, Robbie Neilson and Scott Severin all coming through the ranks.

Most recently he was at Raith Rovers, where he did a magnificent job in retaining the Kirkcaldy club's First Division status.

After leaving Hearts in November 2006 to take up the manager's post at Stark's Park, he captured the Second Division Championship in 2009 before steering the Fifers to their first Scottish Cup semi-final appearance for nearly 50 years in 2010, being beaten by eventual winners Dundee United.

In season 2010-11, he just missed out on promotion to the SPL and his achievements saw him crowned the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year.

A Hearts spokesperson said: "We are delighted to announce the arrival of John McGlynn as manager of Heart of Midlothian FC.

"Understandably the post attracted interest from around the globe and the quality of the applications made it a difficult decision.

"John's track record, though, in developing young players is outstanding and one of the key criteria for the appointment was an ability to successfully integrate youngsters into a senior squad which can compete competitively at the top end of the table.

"He also knows the club intimately having previously spent 10 years as a coach here and we are confident he can take the club forward and build on the success of last season's William Hill Scottish Cup triumph.

"We would also like to put on record our appreciation of Raith Rovers' co-operation in this matter and wish them all the best for the forthcoming season."

Hearts World