MacPHEE ONLY HAS BRIEF WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO EARN TYNECASTLE JOB
AUSTIN MacPHEE yesterday admitted the next ten days will tell him if he has what it takes to be the next permanent manager of Hearts.
The Tynecastle club are seeking a new boss following the sacking of Craig Levein on Thursday, with Motherwell’s Stephen Robinson the top target. An official approach could come before owner Ann Budge leaves for a foreign trip on Tuesday.
Poised to take the team for tomorrow’s Betfred Cup semi-final against Rangers, however, interim boss MacPhee hopes to persuade both the Hearts board and himself that he could have what it takes to be a No 1.
‘I don’t know (about taking the job),’ said MacPhee before he was due to hold talks with Budge yesterday. ‘Sunday will show me where I am.
‘For better or worse, Sunday will tell me a lot about me. I need to stand at the side of the pitch with nobody bar me responsible for that team, that 90 minutes and those decisions.
‘I feel comfortable about that just now. Let’s see if I feel comfortable about it at 5pm or 5.30pm on Sunday. The next ten days will tell a
lot of people about how competent I am.’ MacPhee, who is hopeful Steven Naismith and Jamie Walker could play some part at Hampden after lengthy injury lay-offs, was reluctant to make a commitment on his future after Levein said his farewells at the club’s training ground yesterday morning. ‘I just want Hearts to play well this Sunday,’ he continued. ‘That is for another time. ‘This isn’t the first time I have been interim manager. I stood in when Craig had his heart problem and had a whole week when he wasn’t there. ‘What I did was lean heavily on the senior players and that week we had a really positive performance, beating St Mirren. ‘The other time I have done it is when he was suspended, that was my third game in charge. ‘So it’s not my first experience in this role, the previous ones have ended well and if they hadn’t, Craig would have been the first to tell me. ‘It gives me confidence that you can do the job, but now is not the time to talk about myself. ‘I have to be focused on making sure the players know the game plan for Sunday and have a spring in their step.’ Levein left after a wretched run of results saw Hearts slide to second bottom of the Premiership. Buoyed by a point against Rangers at Tynecastle a fortnight ago, MacPhee will seek a huge improvement on Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone. ‘We need to get a reaction,’ he said. ‘My job as interim manager is to make this spell as successful as it can be. I have been able to do that before. ‘I am not sitting here with trepidation. If I can get good results against Rangers and then St Mirren, then the process might take longer because people might be calm that I can drive the car.’ Motherwell boss Robinson has impressed Hearts directors with his ability to get the Fir Park side into the top four on a comparatively small budget. Despite signing a new contract until 2022, a break clause would allow Hearts to get the former Oldham Athletic boss for a compensation package of £150,000. The Northern Irishman was quizzed on the Hearts job yesterday and, unsurprisingly, tried to play down speculation over his future. ‘The case today is I’m solely concentrating on Motherwell v Livingston and we need a win against a very difficult opponent,’ said Robinson. ‘Motherwell is my priority and we’ve got a huge game tomorrow.’ Motherwell are a club that give players a platform to showcase their talent and earn moves to bigger clubs and asked if it was the same for management staff, Robinson replied: ‘Possibly but as I’ve said I’m just concentrating on the game tomorrow and that’s my sole focus. ‘I’m trying to make sure we are still third going into a really tough game at Celtic. ‘That’s my sole concentration.’ Former Tynecastle winger Neil McCann and club legend John Robertson, now managing Inverness Caledonian Thistle, were also discussed at a board meeting yesterday.