Hearts sack John McGlynn

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon, whose side beat Hearts 2-0 in Paisley on Wednesday evening, believes that owner Vladimir Romanov’s subsequent decision to dismiss John McGlynn merely underlines the fact that the Lithuania-based banker has made the job of managing the Edinburgh club all but impossible.


Capital punishment: Jojn McGlynn's exit from Tynecastle followed Wednesday's 2-0 loss away to St Mirren, Hearts' opponents in next month's Scottish League Cup final, which was the Jambos' fourth straight league defeat Photo:

By Ewing Grahame

9:29PM GMT 28 Feb 2013

The position at Tynecastle should be attractive – Hearts are the second-best supported team in the Scottish Premier League – to any coach looking to build, or restore, a reputation.

Lennon, however, warns any potential candidates that working under Romanov is just as likely to tarnish a curriculum vitae as enhance it.

“They had a bit of success last season, with Paulo Sergio winning them the Scottish Cup,” he said.

“Once again, I felt they had a perfectly good manager in place there. It is one of those jobs where you don’t know what you are letting yourself in for. until you get your feet under the table.

“By the same token, John McGlynn is a Hearts man through and through so I can understand him wanting that opportunity.

“People say we are daft to take on a job like that but that is what we do. We want to give something back to the game because we love it to bits.

“You have to do your research going into a job, though, because sometimes it can do you more harm than good.”

The removal of McGlynn 17 days before Hearts were due to meet St Mirren in the Scottish Communities League Cup final may not equal the ousting, in 2005, of George Burley when Hearts were unbeaten, top of the table and enjoying the best start to a league campaign in their history but it certainly comes close.

“Nothing surprises me especially after the previous years of what has happened through in Edinburgh,” said Lennon.

“Over [Hearts’ recent] history and the amount of managers the club has gone through, any future employee has got to do their homework on them.”

Hearts managing director David Southern, meanwhile, insists club bosses will take their time in appointing McGlynn’s successor.

First-team coach Gary Locke and player development manager Darren Murray will take interim charge of team affairs ahead of the visit of Motherwell at the weekend.

Hearts chiefs have now launched the search for their next manager – Colin Cameron and Paul Hartley are the 4/1 joint favourites – and Southern says they are determined to ensure they make the right appointment.

He told HeartsTV: “We don’t want to categorise anything in terms of who that manager might be, where they might be, whether they’ll be with a club or not with a club or what their nationality might be.

“We also don’t want to box ourselves in, in terms of timescale. We are very aware that there are some very important games coming up.

“We will not rush the job of appointing a new manager – it’s absolutely crucial we get it right.”

McGlynn himself said: “I was very grateful to be given the chance to become the Hearts manager as it was my dream job.

“It was an honour and privilege to serve the club in this capacity and I thoroughly enjoyed working with the players, who have been top professionals.

“It is unfortunate that things didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to and I am gutted about that.

“I don’t think I could have done any more, but the league table doesn’t lie and I know it is a results-driven business.”

Taken from telegraph.co.uk