Maybury return to Hearts a possibility

ALAN MAYBURY today admitted he would love to rejoin Hearts as the club's manager Csaba Laszlo revealed a move for the experienced full-back is not out of the question.

Maybury, 30, has been training at Riccarton for the past week after a potential move to Crystal Palace collapsed. He became a free agent upon leaving Aberdeen in May and is presently examining options in both Scotland and England.

The Irish internationalist spent four years with Hearts between 2001 and 2005 before defecting to join Craig Levein at Leicester City. He told the Evening News that a return to Tynecastle would appeal strongly.

Laszlo is impressed by his ability and attitude to training but will discuss any impending move with Anatoli Korobochka, Hearts' sport director, and majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov before a final decision is made.

Maybury said: "I spoke to Mikey Stewart after talking to Crystal Palace and he spoke to the manager about me training there. They invited me in and we'll see if anything happens further down the line. I loved my time at Hearts and to go back would be great. My agent is speaking to a few other clubs at the same time.

"I still know one or two of the Hearts boys and I'm grateful to get to use the facilities at Riccarton. I need to keep my fitness up until someone says 'you'll do for me'. Hopefully that happens soon."

Maybury's name has been mentioned to the Hearts hierarchy and, as a free agent, he is not bound by transfer window regulations. Laszlo commented: "At the moment, it is not a question for me whether Alan will come in the team or not. Maybe in the winter break, when the transfer window is open, we will see what we can do.

"We must have a concrete plan and this plan must be between me and the club. The owner and the club must make a decision so I'm not thinking about this.

"Alan is training with us and maybe one time we can talk about him. If a player asks me to train with my team to maintain his fitness I think it's important to keep a relationship with him. You never know, maybe in the future we will talk about Alan."

Maybury also trained with Levein's Dundee United recently but is not keen to wait until the New Year to secure a contract. He continued: "This situation has dragged on for a lot longer than I wanted. I need to get back playing as quickly as possible.

"I was at the Hearts game on Saturday but so far I've only trained with them. I just want to get my future sorted quickly."