Weir could be in line for Hearts role

DAVID WEIR is under consideration to become the new sporting director of Hearts. The former Rangers and Scotland centre-back played for the Tynecastle club between 1996 and 1999 before moving to Everton. Weir was assistant manager at Ibrox under Mark Warburton and is now pathway development manager at English Premier League Brighton and Hove Albion, with

sources insisting the 48-year-old is committed to his current role at the south-coast club. Hearts are currently drawing up a shortlist for sporting director and for a manager to succeed Craig Levein, however, and Weir’s name has been discussed. Interim boss Austin MacPhee remains front runner for the sporting-director post, with moves to fill either role at an early stage. Neil Warnock was also linked with the manager post last night after parting company with Cardiff City by mutual consent.

The 70-year-old was in the final year of his Bluebirds contract and plans to retire to a family home in Dunoon. Speaking of his desire to manage one of the Edinburgh clubs last September, Warnock said: ‘I’ve always fancied one of them — Hibs and Hearts. ‘No disrespect to the big two but I’ve always been an underdog and I’ve always thought: “I wish I could get a club up there and get a team to rival Celtic and Rangers”.’ German legend Felix Magath has also thrown his hat into the ring to become the next Tynecastle boss, while former Scotland midfielder Billy McKinlay is also interested. Magath is a three-time Bundesliga winner with Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, and the former German Manager of the Year is one of 30-plus applicants currently under consideration. The 66-year-old last worked at Shandong Luneng in 2017 and applied for the Scotland manager’s post before the appointment of Alex McLeish last year. Magath also spoke to Rangers in 2015 and has managed at Hamburg, Nurnberg, Werder Bremen, Stuttgart and Schalke in his native Germany. Hearts owner Ann Budge is currently sifting through CVs for both posts and veteran attacker Steven Naismith says it is more important for the Edinburgh club to get the successor to Levein right than it is to make a quick appointment. ‘I think Ann has made it clear she will decide and take her time in order to find the best way forward for the club,’ said Naismith. ‘I think it has been a turbulent time and I think now is the time to take a step back and evaluate everything rather than rush into something. ‘For me, personally, the club is not far away from catapulting itself beyond where it has been in the last five or six years, which has to be the main aim for everybody. ‘If that means taking a wee bit longer to get a manager and the structure set up properly, then that will be the right thing to do.’