Old friends managing two very different situations

RIGHT now the score stands at Gary Locke 11, Davie Weir 0.

That is the number of games they have each had as managers, although there is no sense in which Locke can feel in any sort of winning position these days. Next Tuesday, Weir will begin his managerial career in earnest when his new Sheffield United players return for pre-season training. Locke's Hearts will stay on their holidays for a little longer, but training is the least of their worries.

Weir has inherited a renowned squad of players, including Jamie Murphy, the former Motherwell attacker, at a club which averaged 18,600 home crowds in League One last season. Locke's first full season will begin with a 15-point deduction for Hearts being in administration, with the prospect of his squad being stripped clean of its best players in order to raise money for creditors.

Weir and Locke are close pals. They were at Hearts together for the club's historic 1998 Scottish Cup victory, albeit Weir played and Locke was injured, his contribution extending only to lifting the trophy with Stevie Fulton. Now, Locke must help lift the entire club.

"It's sad," said Weir yesterday. "Gary Locke's a friend of mine so obviously I feel for him in. If I'm being honest, my immediate feelings are for him: he's having to concentrate on things other than football, which I'm sure he'd rather do. He's going to have to be answering questions about things he won't know a lot about. It's a tragedy that a great football club like Hearts is getting dragged through the mud and its name tarnished.

"If Gary wasn't the manager of Hearts, I'd have considered him for the backroom staff at Sheffield United. Definitely. He is a friend of mine and I did my coaching badges with him. I've known him for a long time. He is a very good coach and has definitely got the qualities I would work with. But he is the manager of Hearts and was doing very well there at the end of the season. He is in the job he always wanted to be in.

"Starting next season 15 points behind is going to be really different. It is psychologically very difficult to manage that situation. It's not a lost cause and I'm sure Gary will be saying he would like to think they could catch it up. But, with the best will in the world, it's going to be really difficult. I'd be very surprised if he felt it was a lost cause, though, because that's not the right way to approach it. It is an extreme situation for Gary."

Weir was with Hearts from the summer of 1996 to early 1999, a period in which the club began to move towards the growing level of debt which characterised the stewardships of Chris Robinson and then Vladimir Romanov. The confirmation of their descent into administration yesterday will intensify the focus on the Foundation of Hearts, the supporters' initiative to fund a buyout via membership scheme.

"The Hearts fans won't let their club down," said Weir. "That is all they have known. People have got a strong feeling for their football club, it is part of their life, part of their day-to-day operations. If something bad happens to their club, they take it personally. It is a terrible thing which has happened in regard to where they are and the possible ramifications of it all. The first reaction of the Hearts fans will be to come out fighting and to do what they can to stop it getting any worse. But, as we know from experience, it's not quite as easy as that.

"I'm not an expert in regards to how it should pan out but we can't afford to lose Hearts and Rangers and clubs like that from the top level of Scottish football. They are our top clubs, there's no getting away from it. I didn't think that Scottish football could afford to lose Rangers from the SPL. If Hearts drop out then to be missing two clubs like them from the top division would be a massive loss. It's not good for the game."

Weir will escape Scottish football's problems soon enough. He was in Glasgow yesterday to promote a new business he has invested in along with former his former Rangers team-mate, Gavin Rae. "Sport Careers" is a recruitment company which will help sporting professionals secure their next career move using the firm's contacts within the game. The venture is interesting, although Weir might not have much time to dedicate towards it as he takes on the challenge of immersing himself in his first job in management.

Sheffield United are often described as a sleeping giant. They finished fifth in League One last season, losing in the play-off semi-finals to Yeovil. Weir must familiarise himself with an entirely new world. "I've been in and out of the training ground and at the stadium, holding meetings and trying to watch as much DVD footage of teams and players as I can. I'm excited about it. I've got an idea what the level is but I've not worked at that level yet. It is going to be a learning experience for me, I can't kid anyone on about that.

"You walk round the club and you can tell it's got history and a feeling to it. Sheffield is a football city, there are two teams in it [United and Wednesday] and there's a rivalry with an edge there. It's got great potential but, realistically, where we are now is not where we want to be."

He and Locke have that in common, at least.

Taken from the Herald