Locke living a bad dream as penalty looms
NIGHTMARES only c o me in differing degrees of horror. Gary Locke merely hopes his beloved Hearts escape the worst of the horrors associated with insolvency, should the worst come to pass.
Even before yesterday’s news from Lithuania reached Edinburgh, the threat of potential administration had become a familiar topic to rookie manager Locke, who admits that he might need to call his Rangers counterpart All y McCoist for a crash course in crisis management if things get any worse.
Like so many involved in the turnaround of troubled finances at Tynecastle, though, he sounds understandably irked by the prospect of a points penalty — if not an immediate fatal blow to Hearts’ SPL survival, then a severe handicap ahead of next season — undermining all of the good work done.
‘The club are certainly moving in the right direction in terms of wages,’ said Locke, adding: ‘We’re now in a period where the wages the players are earning at the club are sustainable.
‘Off the pitch, there is a lot of work being done behind the scenes. It’s credit to people at the club that they are sorting that out.
‘It would be a nightmare if we went into administration and started next season with a points deficit — but, hopefully, that won’t be the case.
‘But aye, I could be spending a bit of time with Ally i n the summer — maybe phoning him for advice!
‘I speak regularly to a lot of managers and coaches who I respect in the game. Hopefully, it won’t get to the point where I need to speak to Ally about administration and things like that.
‘I’m hopeful the club can sort itself out in the summer and we can all look positively to the future.’
Realistically, events i n the Lithuanian courts will have a far greater bearing on Hearts than anything Locke or any Edinburgh- based employees might do; their position is akin to that of sailors attempting to steer a steady path through rough seas without control of the helm.
Locke can talk optimistically about the contract offer made to former Scotland defender Andy Webster, then, or even sketch out grand plans to bring in fresh faces on — to use his own terms — wages beyond the reach of almost any other SPL club.
Quite how much of this comes to fruition could owe more to the vagaries of Vladimir Romanov’s crumbling business empire than anything Hearts, as a stand- alone business, might achieve. The young head coach, still hurting from an Edinburgh derby defeat he rates as his l ow point of the season, admitted: ‘Everyone concerned with the club will be glad to see the back of this season. It has not exactly been the greatest.
‘But, for me, there have still been a lot of positives. You look at the number of young boys who have come into the team, they’ve been a huge plus for the club — and that is probably the way ahead for most SPL teams.
‘Hopefully, we can bring in a few players who will make the squad better, because we’re looking to do better next season. I concentrate on the football side and I’m hoping that I’ll have a busy summer myself, trying to get players into the club.
‘We are working hard behind the scenes and everybody knows it’s important that we bring in a few fresh faces, because that hasn’t been the case for two or three years.
‘As for those out of contract here, there are players we are trying to keep, there are players we’re trying to move on. These players know the f i nancial situation at the club and have had offers. Whether they accept them or not, I don’t know what is going to happen there yet.
‘Hopefully, they will make a decision soon because it would be nice to get their futures sorted. If we do that, we can look at other targets and try to get things moving in the summer.
‘We’ve made Andy Webster an offer and he has been speaking to John Murray (director of football) with his agent. Andy’s an important part of the football club and an experienced player.
‘We need a bit more experience to help the younger players. So I’m hopeful that Andy will see his f uture here, but it’s a decision he has to make.
‘The players have to be more realistic when it comes to wages. That’s not just Hearts, it’s all over Scotland.
‘SPL players now won’t get the money that was there 10 years ago. We have learnt a harsh lesson by spending a lot of money and we’ve suffered for that.
‘But I can see light at the end of the tunnel now. We’re back living within our means and if players want to come here now, it’ll be because they want to play for Hearts.
‘Our wages will still be better than most clubs in the SPL and, for me, the size of the club should be a big attraction to players I’m trying to bring in.’