Saturday, October 22, 2005

George Burley "parts company" with Hearts

So, it wasn't entirely unexpected but I don't think anyone saw it coming today. Vladimir Romanov told the Hearts first team at about 11am that George Burley would not be there today (or in the future) and that 1st team coach John McGlynn would take charge for this afternoon's game.

Is this a bad thing for Scottish football? Undoubtedly yes. More competition in the league has created a lot more interest this season (in stark contrast to England!) and today's news will surely weaken Hearts' challenge. Of course there is always the possibility that they will unveil a big name manager at this evening's press conference, but I suspect this will not be the case.

Certainly it's a good thing for my team, Celtic, at least as far as this year's league title race is concerned. Rumours are flying around cyberspace that Burley has walked out of Tynecastle in the knowledge that he will replace Alex McLeish in the "Ibrox hotseat" but surely we have enough of a lead over rangers that it will be too late for this season at least.

The scorelines from both Tynecastle and Ibrox this afternoon will be interesting to see, as will the developments over the next few days.