'Was I treated shabbily? That's just my perspective'

Graeme Macpherson
Football Writer
Tuesday 2 July 2013

THERE are many who could be considered villains in this Hearts saga, but John Sutton is certainly not one of them.

The striker returned this week to former club Motherwell, bringing to a close two fairly fraught seasons at Tynecastle. And, while he is too reserved and polite to say as much, you suspect it will not be a period of his career he ever looks back on with any great fondness.

Sutton's problems began when Jim Jefferies was sacked just a few weeks after his arrival. Successor Paulo Sergio made it apparent early on that Sutton would not be part of his plans, allowing the striker to go on loan to Central Coast Mariners in Australia. When Sergio moved on after a season, it seemed as if John McGlynn's arrival would provide Sutton with a fresh start but, again, the new manager chose to use him sparingly, questioning whether he was "a proven scorer" in response to queries over his exclusion.

Gary Locke's appointment seemed to signal a belated upturn in Sutton's fortunes. Then came a summer of mixed messages, the player being told he was in Hearts' plans, then that he wasn't and was free to find a new club, before being denied the chance to leave when the club went into administration. The only way the 29-year-old would have been able to see out the last year of his deal would be if he had followed the lead of several team-mates and agreed to half his wages. Sutton decided against that, was made redundant and a day later signed once more for Motherwell on a two-year deal.

That decision not to take a pay cut may have infuriated some Hearts fans but Sutton believes he has done nothing untoward. "On Friday, I spoke to Gary Locke, who I'd really enjoyed playing for," he explained. "He described what was on the table, I spoke to a few people and told them it wasn't for me. My thinking was I owed a debt to the fans, they always got behind me and kept the club going. But I had to go into it with my eyes open after what happened in my time there only a few weeks before.

"At the end of the season, I was told I was in the plans at Hearts. Administration was maybe on the horizon and we all knew about the potential 15-point penalty. But I was looking forward to a new season and I felt things were starting to pick up. Then my representative got a call and was told I wasn't wanted and it would be better if I found a new club. At that stage it wasn't nice. I asked my agent to call the club back to check that because it was contrary to what I'd heard a little while earlier. But that was the case.

"Was I treated shabbily? That's just my perspective. Everyone probably feels a little bit sorry for themselves. I was well treated by the fans and by lots of people at the club so I can't have any complaints. But, when it came down to it, I had to think about my future. As it turns out, me not being there has allowed Danny Wilson to stay and he's a player they were really keen on."

Sutton more than did his bit for the Hearts cause over the years. Like the rest of the players, he bought shares last winter with his bonuses, gave a proportion of his salary to help fund youth development, and agreed to numerous wage deferrals in particularly difficult times. He is almost certainly still owed money but does not want to talk about it. Instead, his only wish is for the club to make it through this period intact.

"I would like to wish Hearts all the best. Their fans deserve a lot better than what they have got. I lived in a street of Hearts fans and they ploughed money into a share issue which is now worthless. They turned up for all those fundraisers and put their cash in. Now they are being asked to do it again. I've got lots of friends at the club and I hope they manage to stay up and push on."

Now a new challenge awaits at Motherwell. "The club has done absolutely brilliant since I left," added Sutton. "My last game was in the Scottish Cup final and I thought that was a good achievement and then the boys went on to get third and then second in the league. It will be a tough task to repeat that this season and that was something to think about, but there are a lot of good players here and we can still be challenging for the top six and going on cup runs. I'm still hungry to be successful here."

Taken from the Herald