We’ve waited too long for a new boss, it should only take a week!
HEARTS STAR DAMOUR HITS OUT
AFTER a lengthy five-week search, the imminent arrival of a new Hearts boss will provide the rudderless Tynecastle squad with the certainty they crave.
A protracted process will finally end with Daniel Stendel being confirmed as manager although it could yet drag on. The compensation issue with his former club Barnsley, as revealed by Sportsmail, is complicating matters. Hearts are confident of negotiating a fee with the English Championship club and have already agreed terms with Stendel. Whether the deal is completed today, tomorrow or nearer the weekend is as yet unclear.
Since Craig Levein’s sacking on Halloween, Hearts have endured heavy 3-0 and 5-0 defeats to the empty possibility for the decisive of Ibrox being Group ‘I have repeat, great I’m relations happy here with and all G showdown with Young Boys the people, and I feel I want
Rangers at Hampden and Ibrox.
A less-than-compelling audition for the job by caretaker boss Austin MacPhee also saw an almighty collapse against Kilmarnock, with the visitors shipping three goals in seven horrific first-half minutes at Rugby Park.
For midfielder Loic Damour, the lack of a permanent figurehead in the dugout — as well as players being kept in the dark about the situation for well over a month — has only contributed to the team’s dismal form.
‘We’ve waited for too long (for a new manager),’ said the 28-yearold Frenchman. ‘It’s been five weeks or something like that, and that’s too long. Normally it’s one week, maximum!
‘There’s been no information for players, for staff, for everybody. And it’s hard when you don’t know (what is happening).
‘It’s not an excuse to be s*** on the pitch. I’m not saying that.
‘But obviously it’s harder to prepare for games. It’s not ideal, so it’s good to feel that the situation is changing. It’s just good to know the name (of the new manager) because, before this morning, I didn’t know. Nobody knew anything in the dressing room about the situation at the club. But now I know his name and I know he’s German and that he was at Barnsley for a year.’
Former Cardiff City player Damour was signed by Levein in the summer, two years after he first tried to convince him to join Hearts.
But he has not featured as much as he would have liked and hopes the arrival of a new boss represents a clean slate.
‘I wasn’t expecting this kind of start when I came here to Hearts,’ admitted Damour. ‘This is the first time anything like this has happened — that the manager wants me, I sign and then two months later the manager leaves. ‘But I am used to being in hard situations in my career and this is another experience for me. ‘Every time a new manager comes in, it’s a new start for everybody. ‘I don’t know if he knows me or some of the other players, so it’s a new adventure for everyone at the club; the staff, players, fans, even (owner) Ann (Budge). ‘Hopefully it goes better than it has been going.’ Stendel could take in tonight’s home match with Livingston at Tynecastle. But Damour believes it would be the wrong approach for players to focus on trying to catch his eye at the expense of performing their specific roles in the team. ‘I can’t worry about impressing him,’ he said. ‘The most important thing is I do my job on the pitch. If everyone thinks like that, we will be fine because we will have no regrets.’
MacPhee, who had also hoped to land the newly-created sporting director’s post, admits he is unsure if he will have a part to play at Tynecastle in the Stendel era.
He said: ‘Once the club have the next steps in place for whoever will be the head coach, then there will probably be a conversation with me at that point about whatever role may be at the club, if any.
‘I understand the situation and I’m not naive about it. You can only make a decision when someone offers you something.’
But MacPhee believes the new manager is arriving at a good time after he found himself at the helm for a tough run of matches.
And he pointed out that new Hibernian boss Jack Ross, by comparison, started his reign at Easter Road with games against Motherwell (home), St Mirren (away) and Kilmarnock (home).
‘The circumstances have been magnified by us playing Rangers twice in Glasgow,’ insisted MacPhee.
‘Hearts haven’t beaten Rangers at Hampden since 1874. We also haven’t won at Ibrox in the top flight since 2012.
‘If a top manager had looked at our fixtures, he would say: “I’m not sitting in the dugout for them”. If I was the guy’s agent, I might tell him to stay in the house.
‘Most of them wait till they get a period of games, like Jack Ross has got, and they say: “I’ll take the job now”.’