LASZLO IN THE RUNNING FOR UNITED POST

FORMER Hearts boss Csaba Laszlo has emerged as a surprise contender for the Dundee United job. The 53-year-old guided the Tynecastle club to a third-place top-flight finish in 2009, winning Manager of the Year in the process, and is understood to have impressed senior figures at Tannadice. After speaking to the club, Laszlo is believed to have edged ahead of former Hibs and Raith boss John Hughes, whose disastrous plunging of Rovers into League One last season prompted one former Stark’s Park director to issue a public warning to United about the damage ‘Yogi’ might inflict. Raith captain Jason Thomson, who worked under Laszlo (above) at Hearts, last night voiced his support for the well-travelled Romanian-born Hungarian, whose 18 months at Tynecastle during the Vladimir Romanov era prepared him for virtually any crisis situation. With United still sitting in a play-off spot and only three points behind Championship leaders St Mirren, the new manager will be expected to mount a strong title challenge. Thomson believes Laszlo, who still lives in Edinburgh, is just the man to replace the ousted Ray McKinnon. ‘I don’t think there would be many boys who played under Csaba at Hearts who would have a bad word to say about him,’ he said. ‘I certainly played quite a lot of my games for Hearts when he was in charge and I enjoyed that time. ‘He was working under difficult circumstances, with the owner at the time, but if he was the longest-lasting manager under Romanov then he must have been doing something right. ‘He was really passionate about football and that came across in his management style. ‘He’s got a lot of experience, across Europe and in Africa, in club football and international football. ‘If he gets the job, it could turn out to be a magnificent appointment come the end of May.’