JEFFERIES
I was ‘dead’ for four minutes. The hospital had told me it was only 25 seconds as they didn’t want to alarm me any more than was necessary Godfather of Hearts on the current Tynecastle tumult
AFTER a round of golf at Gullane three weeks ago, Jim Jefferies was beckoned by playing partner Mike Korotkich to accept an unusual souvenir.
Korotkich fetched from his car a reminder for Jefferies of his brush with death at the course last September when he suffered a heart attack.
The intriguing gift contained a jarring revelation for the former Falkirk, Hearts, Kilmarnock and Bradford manager to digest.
‘Mike’s wife was a paramedic in the back-up team called for when I was in the ambulance,’ explains Jefferies. ‘I can actually remember her saying to me that I was a friend of George McNeill and so was her husband.
‘Mike said the other day that he had something for me. Out came this big bundle of paper — the ECG graph recording the activity of my heart from the golf course to the hospital.
‘I had always been under the impression that I was “dead” for 25 seconds. That’s what the hospital had told me.
‘They obviously didn’t want to alarm me any more than necessary. Because Korky showed me all the lines on the graph, the two shocks bringing me round and the reading just as I arrived at hospital that I
was back in line. And it showed that, actually, I was “dead” for four minutes. It was quite amazing. I’ve kept hold of it, filed away with my medical papers.’
It’s some story to tell the assembled boardroom guests at Tynecastle today, where Jefferies has been invited for the Ladbrokes Premiership visit of Rangers.
He can regale the company with that difficult truth behind his scare in the knowledge that there was a comfortable conclusion to all the dramas. No damage to his cardiac muscle tissue, a stent fitted and out of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in two days. He has since reported himself to be in rude health and feeling better than for many years at the age of 69.
Jefferies was back driving and golfing quicker than the initial estimates and imparting knowledge and experience to Edinburgh City manager James McDonaugh in his role as sporting director.
The wait for any improvement in the condition of his beloved Hearts has been a far trickier watch. The decline in the club’s fortunes over the past 18 months would form a diagram of grim reading for Jefferies.
Highs of topping the table in the autumn of last season plus a Scottish Cup Final and two Betfred Cup semi-finals were ‘papering over the cracks’ at best.
The stricken state that he finds them in today, ahead of the test against Steven Gerrard’s relentless Rangers, is perilous. Four points adrift at the bottom of the table, five shy of the sure safety slot of 10th.
Jefferies nursed concerns when his curious choice for convalescing 10 days after hospitalisation was a trip to the Betfred Cup quarter-final against Aberdeen. No one could believe he was there, never mind how well he looked.
‘They won that game on penalties, but the performance was awful,’ he says. saw them beaten 1-0 by
St Johnstone at
Tynecastle and it should have been more.
‘It was St Johnstone’s third win of the season and two of them were over Hearts.
‘It’s just been such a mess. They shouldn’t be in this position but we’ve seen it before with Dundee United and Hibs going down.’
In between those Gorgie matches, Jefferies (right) was recruited by Gary Locke for a semi-final brunch for 300 hospitality fans alongside Ian Black and Henry Smith. Austin MacPhee was in charge against
Rangers following Craig Levein’s sacking and the Queen of Hearts turned to the Godfather of Hearts.
‘I was told Ann Budge wanted a chat with me that day,’ he says. ‘She said it was just to let me know that a couple of people had said that she should chat to me for advice.
‘Maybe it was for my opinion on the situation, or to tap into my experience, perhaps with a view to discussing the director of football role, I’m not sure.
‘But she said I should know that and that, if I didn’t hear from her, it was because she was going on holiday.
‘If I’d been asked to take over for a couple of games, I would have done that — but nothing long-term.’
As yet there has been no follow-up and there remains a director of football vacancy. Meanwhile, Hearts went on to persuade Daniel Stendel to try and save them from relegation. The protracted pursuit and difficulty in prising backroom staff from Barnsley was only the start of an unsightly beginning to a new era.
Levein and MacPhee remaining on the premises in alternative or marginalised capacities created an awkward dynamic. One that Jefferies was at pains to avoid himself in August 2011.
Sacked by Vladimir Romanov as he
appointed Paulo Sergio, the then Hearts owner attempted to save a few Lithuanian litas in severance payments by placing Jefferies in the role of sporting director.
‘It just didn’t sit well with me at all,’ says Jefferies. ‘I met Paulo and he was a good lad, I had a lot of time for him. It would be hard to be a manager with the previous manager floating around somewhere in the background.
‘That’s not a good situation. And I
I’d have taken over for a couple of games if asked, but not for the long term
It’s just been such a mess. They shouldn’t be in this position but we’ve seen it before with Dundee United and Hibs going down
I would be worried about having someone still being involved in recruitment who was there for three years of bringing in bad players
would feel uneasy coming in, having worked with all the players. It would be embarrassing.
‘So I’m pretty surprised in this case that they didn’t walk away. I think it would have been better to give Daniel as fresh a start as possible.
‘He’s already coming in working with guys who are, quite rightly, close to Craig. Christophe Berra will be talking to Craig and Austin, as anyone would be.
‘But they are still working there. It’s a different situation if they are outside the club. But they are inside it. And that’s not comfortable for anyone.
‘I said I wasn’t interested in being a director of football in the end and left it in the hands of the lawyers.
‘I went to say cheerio to the players and Lockey said that Paulo would like to meet me.
‘Billy Brown and I went up to be introduced and Paulo’s assistant asked if we had any advice for them.
‘Straight to his face, Billy said: “Aye, get out of here as quickly as you can!”
The upheaval of all the Romanov madness will never be replicated but some confusion and turmoil did return as German boss Stendel was unable to create an early new manager bounce.
He suffered four league defeats off the bat and returned home for Christmas in advance of the loss to Hibs in the Edinburgh derby.
Gradually, he did manage to remove Levein’s coaching project Jon Daly and players Glenn Whelan, Jake Mulraney and Craig Wighton.
Berra was binned as captain and told he could leave, with Steven Naismith installed in his place.
A sound appointment if a messy handover, according to Naismith’s old Rugby Park boss.
‘Naismith being fit now can be the catalyst for Hearts recovering,’ insists Jefferies.
‘Christophe knows himself he was getting to the latter stages of his career and I think it was the right decision to take him out of that, although it could certainly have been handled better.
‘You can take him out of it and just say: “Keep yourself fit, play in the reserves, we might call on you, you never know”. He’d have accepted that. But you’ve got to be your own man and do what you believe in, so that’s what Daniel did.
‘Giving the captaincy to Naisy is one I strongly agree with. It’s been noticeable with the 5-0 cup win over Airdrie and what I think was a good point in Dingwall that Naisy has lifted people.
‘They know he will be at them all the time and keep them going, getting the best out of them on that pitch.
‘Even when he was younger he would get at people. As he’s progressed in his career, he’s learned how to do that side of it well and become a leader.’
Stendel has specifically targeted improving the goal threat around Naismith, snapping up Kosovan striker Donis Avdijaj and the 2016/17 top Scottish Premiership scorer Liam Boyce from English League One side Burton Albion.
Although Levein’s former assistant MacPhee had been offering recruitment suggestions, Stendel ploughed his own furrow to push
through signings he
Billy told Paulo Sergio’s No 2: ‘Get out of here as quickly as you can!’ deems better suited to the style of play desired.
Jefferies dearly hopes this flurry of transfer-window activity is more successful than what he views as excessive changes and poor choices over recent seasons.
‘I can’t believe the amount of players Hearts have signed the last few years, there has been poor recruitment,’ he stresses.
‘I saw a statistic that 26 players had played at left-back since 2014. Okay, it might be a stop-gap for a game here or there but that’s obviously too much.
‘You can argue there were big injuries too. But every club gets injuries to key men and surely, if you’ve signed that many players, you can’t just blame that.
‘You have to compensate for that and have a good squad for all that investment. There are some big names in there. There’s just been too much change.
‘And I would be worried about having someone still involved with recruitment who was there for three years of recruiting bad players.
‘But good luck to Daniel now, I wish him all the best for it. He’s used to playing an intense pressing game so needs a squad to do that.
‘He had the games before the break, found out about players then took decisions about who he thinks can help him get Hearts out of this.
‘He’s not got long. But I think, if he gets the system working right, then he can do it.’
Jim Jefferies on his close call as he reflects on the state of Hearts