Ex-Hearts star Ritchie sets sights on Tynecastle coach role

FORMER Hearts star Paul Ritchie was today coming to terms with the news that his playing career is over – but the defender is already turning his attentions to returning to Tynecastle one day as a coach.

Ritchie, part of Hearts' Scottish Cup-winning team in 1998, met with a specialist this week, hoping to finally resolve the knee injury which has kept him out of action for the last 18 months. However, instead he was giving the devastating news that playing on would cause irreparable damage to the joint.

The ex-Rangers and Manchester City player admits that the surgeon's words were hard to accept at the age of 32 but insisted that the thought of one day being able to return to the club he supported as a boy was enough incentive for him to continue working towards his SFA coaching badges.

Ritchie has been working on his A Licence at Dundee with the help of Dens Park boss Alex Rae and is now more determined than ever.

Less than 24 hours after the meeting with his surgeon, Ritchie admitted that the news was still sinking in and said: "It was a blow for me but I am determined now to just concentrate on the coaching side of things.

"My knee has had more than its fair share of bumps and bruises and it is beyond repair.

"It is a case of having to let the news sink in and to accept it, which is difficult because I have known nothing else but football.

"I'm 32 now and although I might be pushing on a bit in football terms, I had hoped that I still had a few years left in me.

"The one positive that I can take from it all is that it allows me in my mind to focus totally on the coaching aspect because I know that I am not going to play again. Until I spoke with the surgeon I was still harbouring thoughts that I might be able to get back to playing again in some capacity. I have been involved in training and I've been running but it's just not enough to play in a game.

"You look at Davie Weir and see how well he has done in the latter stages of his career and he's managed to play on for a long time, but on the other side of the coin you look at Stevie Frail and Craig Levein, who are a bit closer to home and they both had their careers cut short by knee injuries and everyone has seen how well they have both done as coaches."

And, having supported Hearts as a youngster, and been on their books since the tender age of 12, Ritchie would love nothing more than to follow in both Frail and Levein's footsteps by becoming involved with the Gorgie outfit again.

Ritchie, who made 162 first-team appearances for Hearts between 1993 and 1999, knows that the prospect of coaching or managing in the SPL is still some way off but, he conceded: "Without a shadow of a doubt, I would love to come back to Tynecastle in any capacity.

"I made decisions in my career that I look back and wonder what might have been if I had stayed at the club. I have supported them since I was a kid and played with them since the age of 12 and if I got the opportunity to go back and coach there at any level then I would jump at it.

"It is a fantastic club to play for, the supporters are fantastic and it would be great to go back and work there. I'll just keep my fingers crossed that it happens at some point in the future.

"The hard part is going to be over the next few years, getting the experience and trying to get a good position.

"I'm hopeful that I will get a job for next season, it depends on what division Dundee are in because if they make it up into the SPL then there might be more scope for me staying on with them."

Dundee face Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals this weekend but Ritchie will miss the game because he is already enrolled on an SFA coaching course: "I am going to miss the game, it's one of only a few I have missed all season.

"The SFA stipulate that you have to attend these things and, at the end of the day, it is all for the benefit of my career.

"I have been fortunate enough to have played in a few Scottish Cup finals and won it once, so I would love to see Dundee get through. I won't be there but I'll be wishing the boys all the best."

Rich pickings: A look at Paul's career

August 21, 1975: Born in Kirkcaldy.

July 1992: Signs for Hearts from Links United.

August 2, 1993: Makes his debut in testimonial against Everton.

May 18, 1996: Part of Hearts team which reaches Scottish Cup final. The Jambos lost 5-1 to Rangers.

November 24, 1996: Plays in Hearts side which loses 4-3 to Paul Gascoigne-inspired Rangers in classic League Cup final.

May 16, 1998: Helps Hearts beat Rangers 2-1 to win the Scottish Cup at Celtic Park and clinch the club's first major trophy since 1962.

April 28, 1999: Makes Scotland debut in 1-0 friendly win over Germany in Bremen.

June 9, 1999: Scores for Scotland in 3-2 defeat to Czech Republic in Prague.

December 8, 1999: Plays last match for Hearts in 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen at Pittodrie. Ritchie is later dropped for refusing to sign a new contract at Tynecastle.

December 20: Joins English Championship outfit Bolton on three-month loan deal, having made 162 first-team appearances for Hearts.

June 8, 2000: Joins Rangers for free at end of Hearts contract. The Tynecastle club had earlier turned down an offer of 1million from the Ibrox club.

August 22, 2000: Moves to Manchester City in 500,000 deal without having played a single competitive match for Rangers under Dick Advocaat.

September 20, 2002: Having made 27 appearances for City, moves to Portsmouth on loan

April 1, 2003: Loaned to Derby County.

August 1, 2003: Joins Walsall on free transfer.

July 1, 2004: Moves back north to play for Dundee United, making 50 appearances in three years.

August 1, 2006: Joins Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus but spell is disrupted by knee injury.

March, 2008: Has to quit game after being sidelined by injury for 18 months.