Davie Weir met with Hibs before signing for Hearts in 1996

David Weir in action for Hearts. Picture: SNS

The 48-year-old revealed a meeting he had with then Hibs boss Alex Miller in Edinburgh on the morning he met with Hearts boss Jim Jefferies and his assistant Billy Brown.

Weir, who began his football career playing college football in the USA, had been managed by Jefferies and Brown during his time at Falkirk.

“I had probably stayed at Falkirk too long,” he told the Open Goal podcast. “I had opportunities to leave but never really happened. It was time to leave. Falkirk was where I was from so I just had to go and try something different. And Hearts was a step up at the time. Hearts were a bigger club. Falkirk were going backwards a wee bit, struggling and looked like they were going to get relegated. Going to Hearts was a no brainer.

“It was actually either go to Hearts or go to Hibs. That was the choice. Bill McMurdo was my agent at the time and we went to meet Hibs and Hearts on the same day through in Edinburgh so that was really interesting.

“I met Alex Miller in the morning and he told me where he wanted me to play and this and that. I met Jim and Billy in the afternoon and they did the same and ended up signing for Hearts.”

Weir joked that he was persuaded by “a hundred quid a week extra”, but it was the prospect of working with Jefferies and Brown which swung his decision.

He said: “I knew what I was getting with them and was excited to go and work with them again. I kind of had a bad time for a couple of years and wanted to go and enjoy my football again.”

The former Everton and Rangers defender recently attended Hearts’ celebrations to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the club’s 2-1 win over Rangers to win the Scottish Cup in 1998.

“I still speak to a lot of boys from that team, still got great memories of that time,” Weir said. “That season we felt we had a chance of winning the league. Right up until the last three, four, five games of the seson we felt we were in about it. We had no fear in terms of Rangers and Celtic beating them.

“We lost to Rangers in another cup final (4-3 in 1996 League Cup), Gazza scored two goals out of nothing and stole it away from us and before that Hearts had had the bad one against Rangers (5-1 loss in the 1996 Scottish Cup final. This was now or never.”

He was also one of four Hearts players sent off by referee Gerry Evans during a 3-0 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox.

Weir said: “I think I was the second one to get sent off. The door just kept opening. Rangers took it easy on us to be honest. It was just one of those occasions where your emotion takes over.”

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