Barr better reference for winger than last employers

Richard Wilson

Darren Barr was restricted to an outsider's view.

Not long after Hearts returned to Edinburgh following their Europa League tie with Liverpool last Friday, two of the players travelled on to Glasgow. David Templeton and Ryan McGowan were coveted by Rangers, and the progress of their potential moves was detailed on television and social media outlets.

Despite being friends with both players, Barr could only keep up with proceedings in the same way as everybody else. Even footballers themselves are drawn to Sky Sports' coverage of the final hours of the transfer window, despite the dramas being part of their everyday lives.

The outcome prompted mixed emotions in the Hearts midfielder; disappointment at seeing Templeton depart, but relief that McGowan chose to stay. Templeton's display on his debut for Rangers on Sunday, when he scored two goals against Elgin City, seemed typical to his former team-mate.

"I wasn't at all surprised the boy's got an abundance of talent," Barr said. "On the deadline day you don't know what's going to happen. Everybody was [watching Jim White on Sky Sports]. It's good for us anyway that Ryan stayed."

Templeton's departure had prompted a bitter statement from Hearts which remarked that the player had attitude problems. Yet Barr does not recall any examples. "I just saw the attitude that he wanted to win and wanted to play all the time," he said. "Sometimes things don't go for you, but he still put his head down and worked hard. I don't see why he can't go to the very top. We just want good things for the boy."

Hearts did welcome a new signing as Templeton left, with midfielder Ryan Stevenson returning to the club from Ipswich Town. Rumours had emerged that he was close to a move to Motherwell but John McGlynn asked defender Andy Webster to help turn the player back to Tynecastle.

"I heard that he had decided to go to Motherwell," said the Hearts manager. "So I got Andy Webster to give him a call and Ryan said that was not quite the case. We worked something out."

Taken from the Herald