Moira Gordon: Jim Jefferies’ Hearts return is clever piece in the jigsaw

Hugely popular with fans, appointment will ease pressure on Tynecastle board

Jim Jefferies and assistant Billy Brown celebrate with the Scottish Cup after Hearts' 2-1 win over Rangers in the 1998 final.

It wasn’t so long ago that a chasm seemed to be opening up between disgruntled fans and the people in charge at Hearts. Yesterday’s appointment of Jim Jefferies was a positive move in repairing the relationship.

After all, if ever there was a man who could serve as a conduit between the hierarchy and the hoi polloi, the former player, captain, two-time manager and the man now serving as advisor to the board is the ideal candidate.

His standing with the supporters, who will forever be grateful for his role in delivering silverware after a torturous 36-year cup drought, is not the only reason Jefferies has been recruited, though. He is another clever piece in the jigsaw being put together by chairman and owner Ann Budge, who must keep an eye on the bigger picture as she prepares to hand over her controlling interest in the Tynecastle club she steered out of administration six years ago and has worked to rebuild ever since.

The contract is short term but the benefits could be long lasting and alleviates some of the pressure building as the board fight for the club’s rights in the wake of the coronavirus crisis and negotiate the cash-strapped, post-Covid 19 landscape.

With arbitration and a disciplinary hearing to focus on, Budge, pictured, announced that the hunt for a sporting director would have to be placed on the back-burner. But, in enlisting Jefferies’ football experience and acumen, she is relieved of some of the heavy lifting that comes with reshaping a squad to suit new manager Robbie Neilson and the budget.

“We do need support to ensure Robbie has all the time he needs to work and focus on his first team squad ahead of the season. To provide that support, we have reached out to Jim,” read a club statement

“Jim has agreed to join us for 6 months, on a part-time basis, to give Ann and the Board advice and guidance on a range of footballing matters. Jim will work closely with Ann during the transfer window, which has now opened, to help make the changes to the squad that Robbie feels are needed.”

The list of Tynecastle heroes recruited by the 1998 Scottish Cup winning manager is long and his ability to get the best out of them is as legendary as his love of winning and passion for Hearts. But, with experience of working for demanding and difficult owners and chairmen over his many years in the game, Jefferies has allayed any fears that he will a problem rather than a major part of the solution.

“Robbie knows the club as well as me and if he needs any support there will be no interference, it’ll be a case of if they need anything or any advice, then I’m there,” he said on the club’s official website.

“My role is to help Ann and the Board and advise them on things that have maybe just been lacking attention and some things that have not been working. It’s as simple as that. Hopefully we can address these things and get Hearts back to where they should be, challenging at the right end of the table.

“I’m looking forward to it enormously. When it’s your own club that you have such a relationship with and the supporters, it’s exciting.”

The respect is mutual but that is because Hearts fans demand graft and loyalty and don’t always mind if it isn’t always pretty provided those doing their bidding on match days give their best. A club where the worth of the collective gains appreciation, Jefferies is a team player.

Brought in on a six-month, part-time deal, there has never been anything half-hearted about the 69-year-old’s devotion to the club.

Sometimes seen as a surly or dour by those who do not know him, the reality is someone who is dogged, determined and hard-working but there is a warmth that softens any sharp edges and lends him to the role of a fun but fair father figure.

In that regard, he has been preparing for this position for years. Guys like Gary Locke will attest to that. Another who wears his heart and his Hearts on his sleeve, he was a beneficiary of that almost-paternal guidance. Now it is Robbie Neilson’s turn.

“I’m delighted to welcome Jim back to Hearts,” said Neilson, pictured, “He brings a wealth of experience and knows the club inside out having been hugely successful both as a player and manager at the club. Having worked with Jim in his first spell as manager and having known him for over 20 years, his experience and expertise will be of great benefit to both the club and myself.”

That history will be key. Both men share a certain humility minus any hint of an inferiority complex, so regardless of whether Hearts start as favourites in the Championship or get to tussle with bigger names and richer budgets in the Premiership, they are up for the fight. Both are strong characters but, crucially, are not unyielding. Most importantly, both are driven by the same goals and, as each has proved, they know how to get others to buy into those ambitions to ensure success.

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