Still living the Hearts dream

Stewart Fisher
Sports Writer
Sunday 23 June 2013

GARY Locke sounded out Ally McCoist about the possibility of bringing Rangers to Tynecastle for a pre-season friendly to raise funds for the cash-strapped Gorgie side.

The Ibrox team were unable to oblige as they had already fixed up trips to Bristol and Germany in pre-season – and the Hearts administrators Trevor Birch and Bryan Jackson of BDO are now pursuing alternative glamour opponents – but the story emphasises the manager's willingness to leave no stone unturned in an attempt to make sure his boyhood heroes survive beyond the summer.

"I speak to Ally, he is a person in the game I have huge admiration for," said Locke, "and I was looking to get a game at Tynecastle anyway – I wanted a home game before the start of the season. It is very difficult because we have been let down by a couple of teams and we're trying to get a game. Trevor has a few contacts in England as well so we'll try and get a game here if we can."

The precedent of Rangers is an interesting one for followers of the Tynecastle club. Even in liquidation and re-entry in the lower divisions, the reincarnated Ibrox side have found a release of sorts, managing to shed the excesses and liabilities of a former regime. But everyone at Hearts would clearly regard exiting administration via a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) as hugely preferable.

"That [the Rangers example] gives you encouragement," said Locke. "They have come through a difficult period, and with the back-room staff they have there I didn't doubt that. There are some fantastic people there and they've come through it. They're huge club and I think we're a huge club. But that [liquidation] is what we have to try and avoid."

Locke was alerted to the club's imminent appointment of administrators while on a holiday, but he isn't exactly new to all this insolvency business. The 38-year-old experienced administration and redundancy as a player at Bradford City in 2002, even if Jim Jefferies – the manager who took him there – had already managed to part company with the club.

"It was Nicky Law [father of the current Rangers player of the same name]," recalled Locke. "Jim had left, he must have known what was happening! It was a horrible time and that was as a player when I just thought about myself. Now, because I'm the manager, there's so many other people to think about and you take it a wee bit harder."

Now, with BDO also involved in the insolvency events around Dunfermline Athletic, both he and his mentor are effectively answerable to Bryan Jackson. "I speak to Jim all the time anyway," said Locke. "I speak to him as often as I speak to my wife. He is in the position at Dunfermline where they are trying to make sure their club survives and I'm trying to do the same with Hearts."

At least Locke knows where he stands now. Working on without pay at the club, he is clearly still disgruntled at being encouraged to pursue transfer options amid such an uncertain financial backdrop.

"I was like every other manager when they get to the summer, you look to try and rebuild and bring in better players," he said. "That's exactly what I tried to do: we never saw this coming. All the hours I've spent have been a waste of time but I'm not bothered about that now, it's not something I am going to reflect on because I have a bigger battle ahead and that is to make sure this club survives."

It will be some encouragement that another 300 season tickets were sold yesterday, bringing the total to 800 in the last 48 hours after BDO made a plea for financial backing from the fans.

The players return for the start of pre-season on Thursday and until then Locke is happy to field calls from worried players even if he might not have the answers at his fingertips. The situation is not exactly the kind of thing in the SFA coaching licence training.

"The players who are still here, we will get them in on Thursday and they will all meet the administrators and they will say their piece and give some clarity to the players," he said. "But I'm sure they are reading papers and watching the television, and if they want to know anything then they know where I am, they know my phone number."

But however dire events are, as long as there is still a club to manage Locke will not be living the proverbial nightmare.

"This is my dream job," he said. "Sometimes not everything goes to plan and certainly it has not gone to plan since I took charge here. But it is still a dream job. I'm just hoping we can get through this bleak period of my managerial career then get back to the days when I was a player here and everything was great.

"Hearts means everything to me, it's a club I've watched all my life and a club I always will, no matter what happens in my career. No matter where I am, I will follow Hearts."

"I speak to Ally, he is a person in the game I have huge admiration for," said Locke, "and I was looking to get a game at Tynecastle anyway – I wanted a home game before the start of the season. It is very difficult because we have been let down by a couple of teams and we're trying to get a game. Trevor has a few contacts in England as well so we'll try and get a game here if we can."

The precedent of Rangers is an interesting one for followers of the Tynecastle club. Even in liquidation and re-entry in the lower divisions, the reincarnated Ibrox side have found a release of sorts, managing to shed the excesses and liabilities of a former regime. But everyone at Hearts would clearly regard exiting administration via a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) as hugely preferable.

"That [the Rangers example] gives you encouragement," said Locke. "They have come through a difficult period, and with the back-room staff they have there I didn't doubt that. There are some fantastic people there and they've come through it. They're huge club and I think we're a huge club. But that [liquidation] is what we have to try and avoid."

Locke was alerted to the club's imminent appointment of administrators while on a holiday, but he isn't exactly new to all this insolvency business. The 38-year-old experienced administration and redundancy as a player at Bradford City in 2002, even if Jim Jefferies – the manager who took him there – had already managed to part company with the club.

"It was Nicky Law [father of the current Rangers player of the same name]," recalled Locke. "Jim had left, he must have known what was happening! It was a horrible time and that was as a player when I just thought about myself. Now, because I'm the manager, there's so many other people to think about and you take it a wee bit harder."

Now, with BDO also involved in the insolvency events around Dunfermline Athletic, both he and his mentor are effectively answerable to Bryan Jackson. "I speak to Jim all the time anyway," said Locke. "I speak to him as often as I speak to my wife. He is in the position at Dunfermline where they are trying to make sure their club survives and I'm trying to do the same with Hearts."

At least Locke knows where he stands now. Working on without pay at the club, he is clearly still disgruntled at being encouraged to pursue transfer options amid such an uncertain financial backdrop.

"I was like every other manager when they get to the summer, you look to try and rebuild and bring in better players," he said. "That's exactly what I tried to do: we never saw this coming. All the hours I've spent have been a waste of time but I'm not bothered about that now, it's not something I am going to reflect on because I have a bigger battle ahead and that is to make sure this club survives."

It will be some encouragement that another 300 season tickets were sold yesterday, bringing the total to 800 in the last 48 hours after BDO made a plea for financial backing from the fans.

The players return for the start of pre-season on Thursday and until then Locke is happy to field calls from worried players even if he might not have the answers at his fingertips. The situation is not exactly the kind of thing in the SFA coaching licence training.

"The players who are still here, we will get them in on Thursday and they will all meet the administrators and they will say their piece and give some clarity to the players," he said. "But I'm sure they are reading papers and watching the television, and if they want to know anything then they know where I am, they know my phone number."

But however dire events are, as long as there is still a club to manage Locke will not be living the proverbial nightmare.

"This is my dream job," he said. "Sometimes not everything goes to plan and certainly it has not gone to plan since I took charge here. But it is still a dream job. I'm just hoping we can get through this bleak period of my managerial career then get back to the days when I was a player here and everything was great.

"Hearts means everything to me, it's a club I've watched all my life and a club I always will, no matter what happens in my career. No matter where I am, I will follow Hearts."

Taken from the Herald