‘Best of buddies’ now, Hearts boss McGlynn wishes Strachan all the best

By STUART BATHGATE
Published on 18/01/2013 01:24

JOHN McGlynn has welcomed the appointment of Gordon Strachan as Scotland manager, and revealed that he and the former Celtic boss patched up their differences some time ago.

Strachan and McGlynn had a touchline bust-up when the latter, now Hearts manager, was an assistant at Tynecastle. Reports alleged that Strachan had called the then Hearts No 2 “a parasite”. But McGlynn, while admitting he had hoped Craig Levein would have been given longer in charge, welcomed the enthusiasm he is sure the new man will bring to the post.

“I think it is a positive appointment,” he said yesterday. “I worked with Craig Levein [at Hearts] and was a good friend of his, and I would loved for him to get a longer stint in the job.

“Now the same things are being said about Gordon as were being said about Craig when he got he job. Bottom of the table – the only way is up. It is a hard gig at the end of the day because the teams in our group are doing well. Scottish fans want to back their team 100 per cent and Gordon was the one to bring in.

“I have a lot of respect for Gordon. He did a terrific job at Celtic and brings a lot of experience to the role, so there is no doubt he will come in with a new enthusiasm and hopefully get us going. It won’t be easy, though.”

McGlynn and Strachan were both sent to the stand after an angry exchange of words during a match at Tynecastle in August 2006. Hearts, who meet Celtic in Glasgow tomorrow, won that game 2-1. “We’re best buddies now,” McGlynn continued. “I attended a couple of events – one where Spartans FC had a charity event and he was the guest speaker and he mentioned that and quite openly apologised.

“At a Raith Rovers hall of fame dinner, again, he was guest speaker and he speaks very well and comes across very well. As a manager you can learn things from him when he talks. He was very honest and very open and you relate, on many levels, with some of the things he is coming away with, talking about his experiences with Alex Ferguson and experiences as a manager. He was great to listen to and we have no problems now.

“I thought that whole thing was a mountain out of a molehill. I stepped over the line and got sent to the stand – absolute nonsense! The last fight I had was in primary school. I was never going to run over and knock his lights out, was I? My bark is worse than my bite. I might have called him a wee Hibbie, whatever, but that’s it.”