Gary Bollan throws hat into ring for Hearts job

GARY BOLLAN is the latest to apply for the vacant manager’s job at Hearts as the Tynecastle board prepare to whittle their shortlist for the role down to a select few candidates.

The former Livingston manager, 39, is currently unemployed after leaving the West Lothian club in February. He confirmed to the Evening News today that he has submitted a CV to Hearts in the hope of replacing the departed Paulo Sergio.

Bollan is merely one of dozens of coaches to apply for the position. He hopes his record of promoting young players to the senior squad at Livingston captures the attention of Vladimir Romanov and the Hearts directors, who are committed to developing youths next season and beyond.

“You want to challenge yourself and be the best you can,” said Bollan. “You look at the stature of a club like Hearts and they’re up there with the best three or four in Scotland. It’s an attractive job for anyone.

“My team at Livingston was full of young players who were developing. I feel I can help kids at Hearts develop as well. They are going to have a lot of kids in their team and I feel I can help bring them on. I’ve shown that, if the youngsters are good enough, they’ll play.”

Hearts will now sift through the applicants and finalise a chosen few who fit the criteria of an ambitious manager able to develop young footballers.

Ironically, Bollan was dimissed by Livingston for not playing enough youth players in their first team. However, that is a charge he strongly refutes. He won promotion twice in succession at Almondvale and returned the club to the First Division with a squad heavily influenced by home-grown talent.

“I think my record speaks for itself with what we managed to achieve at Livingston, winning two promotions back to back with a young squad,” he insisted. “I stick by what I did there and I walked away with my head held high knowing I did a good job. Hopefully, someone else will take a chance on me and give me an opportunity to continue where I left off at Livingston.”

Other coaches linked with the Hearts job so far include John McGlynn, Paul Hartley and Colin Cameron. Jimmy Calderwood has applied, as have the Ukrainian Oleg Protasov and the Pole Piotr Nowak.