Gary Locke can empathise with Dunfermline misery

By STUART BATHGATE
Published on Friday 29 March 2013 00:00

Gary Locke has expressed sympathy for his old boss Jim Jefferies and the playing staff at Dunfermline, and admitted there was a time earlier this season when he feared Hearts might be forced down the same route.

The Tynecastle manager was made redundant when a Bradford City player, and although he quickly found a new club, he knows that those Dunfermline players who are laid off may not be so fortunate given the decline in the financial state of Scottish football.

“What’s happening at Dunfermline is a sharp reminder for us,” Locke said yesterday. “They’re a great club and everyone at Hearts hopes they can pull through. There are great people there.

“People will be told they don’t have jobs and that’s not a great position for anyone. I experienced something similar at Bradford when I played there.

“You go on holiday and come back to be told you’re out of work. So I really feel for players and staff at Dunfermline. A lot of things went on at Bradford, but effectively I was made ­redundant.

“Fortunately for me I got a great move to Kilmarnock. Some of the other players weren’t so lucky. That must be the worst thing for any manager to deal with – telling players they don’t have a job any more.

“It could possibly have been us earlier this season. When you’re in a situation where people aren’t getting paid, it certainly does worry you. Hopefully we’ve got through that difficult time.”

Hearts do appear to have stabilised after their monetary worries towards the end of last year. But they have stabilised at a far lower level than is satisfactory for anyone at the club: tenth in the SPL, they go into tomorrow’s game at Pittodrie with no hope of reaching the top six, and are expected to make further budget cuts over the summer.

Locke expects those players who are out of contract at the end of the season to be told over the next two or three weeks whether the club wants them to stay on, and he has not lost hope that centre-halves Andy Webster and Marius Zaliukas could be offered new deals. But he agreed that Hearts will no longer be able to offer the kind of wages they routinely doled out until recently.

“We’re trying to make decisions on the squad now; we have to start rebuilding. There is a lot to work with here and it’s a chance for a fresh start. I haven’t heard for definite that the likes of Webster and Zaliukas will leave in the summer. They’re boys I don’t want to lose, but with the financial situation in Scottish football, they might see their futures elsewhere.

“They’re quality players who I’d love to have. But it’s not really my decision. I hope they’re here, but if they’re not I’ll wish them all the best.

“The days of big wages are gone, not just for Hearts, but for all the clubs in Scotland. If you go back ten years the players at clubs like Dundee and Dunfermline were all on big money.

“We have to be realistic; we can’t attract those type of ­players any more. The sooner ­everybody realises that the better. For ­ourselves, it has been a harsh ­lesson. But hopefully we’ve ­almost turned the corner and we can look ahead now.

“I’m optimistic for next season. We have a lot of youngsters who have now tasted the first team. Also, we have a lot of guys out of contract and I think we’ll have more players on a meaningful wage. There won’t be any on huge amounts of money, because we’ve all suffered from that this season.”

Especially after the disappintment of losing the League Cup final, Locke faces a hard job motivating his squad over the coming weeks as they appear to have little to play for. But he insisted it was important both financially and in footballing terms that they do all they can to finish as high up the table as possible.

“We all realise at Hearts that it has been a disappointing season. A club like ourselves shouldn’t be in the position we’re in. But we are, and the target is to finish as high up the table as we can, because every league place means more money.

“Everyone knows the financial situation here, so, from my point of view, the season isn’t over by a long way. The club still isn’t out of the woods yet. It has been a battle on all fronts this season, but credit to everyone associated with Hearts – they’ve all done a great job under very ­difficult ­circumstances.

“Hopefully for us all, things can be resolved in the summer and we can look forward to a better campaign. I think we’ve still got a good group of players. We have talented youngsters along with a few experienced ones as well. I told them after Hampden, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. I want them now to put in performances that merit the Hearts jersey.”

Jamie Hamill could make his return to the Hearts first team at Pittodrie, having come through two games for the under-20s. The full-back has been out for almost exactly a year after damaging a knee in training.

One important element of Hearts’ budget for the coming season was secured yesterday when current shirt sponsors Wonga extended their agreement until the end of the 2013-14 campaign. It will be the online loans company’s third season of sponsorship.

“We’re absolutely delighted that Wonga is continuing to give such strong support to Hearts and Scottish football for the remainder of this and next season,” Hearts director Vitalijus Vasiliauskas said. “The partnership has been a great success. Wonga has been the most engaged and involved sponsor the club has had.”

Taken from the Scotsman