Edgaras Jankauskas: McGlynn, not Mourinho, my favourite coach

Former Hearts striker and assistant Edgaras Jankauskas insists his favourite coach in football was ex-Tynecastle boss John McGlynn.

Edgaras Jankauskas trained under and worked alongside John McGlynn at Hearts. Picture: Julie Bull

The Lithuanian national team manager will be back in Scotland this coming Saturday when his side take on the Tartan Army at Hampden.

Click here for the latest results, fixtures and stats>>>

Jankauskas has had two spells at Hearts during his career. He spent two seasons as a player from 2005 to 2007, then returned for a year in the summer of 2012 to become No.2 to McGlynn.

Despite being trained by some of football’s most famous managers, including Jose Mourinho while part of Porto’s Champions League winning squad, the Lithuanian believes the first-team sessions constructed by McGlynn were the best he’s ever seen.

He told The Scottish Sun: “I’ve learned a lot from all the managers I’ve worked under, people like Javier Clemente, John Toshack and obviously Mourinho — but John McGlynn made the biggest impact on me.

“I can say, in all sincerity, that he put on the training sessions that excited me most as a player.

“He was so dedicated as a coach, absolutely fanatical about football, and the training sessions he designed were amazing, great for players and the best I’ve ever seen.

“When you’re a player, especially at the highest level, training can be too tactical, not intense enough and, basically, a bit dull but that was never the case with John.”

Keep up to date with all our sport news on The Scotsman’s Sport page on Facebook


DOWNLOAD THE SCOTSMAN APP ON ITUNES OR GOOGLE PLAY