Former Hearts star names the Tynecastle boss who turned Gorgie stint 'a little bit sour' as he returns to SPFL
The former Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday is back in Scotland for the first time since leaving Hearts.
Glenn Whelan had no hesitation over returning to Scotland after a difficult end to time at Hearts.
The former Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder came up against his ex-side on Friday as the Lions defeated Wouter Vrancken’s side 2-1 in a friendly. Whelan joined Hearts in 2019 but Daniel Stendel’s arrival soon beckoned a hasty exit after less than a full season for the experienced battler brought in by Craig Levein. There were criticism of him prior to his exit as he swapped Edinburgh for Fleetwood Town.
Looking back on his time at Tynecastle after accepting the Livi job, Whelan insists that the difficulties of a term at Hearts that ended in relegation had no bearing on his decision to make an SPFL return as manager at Championship level, instead enthused by the opportunity to lead a team. The Irishman who featured in England for Aston Villa, Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday primarily has previously coached with the Republic of Ireland, Bristol Rovers and Wigan Athletic.
Who has been named the new manager of Livingston?
He said: ”It was the opportunity. Obviously, it was difficult last season for the club being relegated, so they needed someone to come in and grab it by the horns and hopefully push it forward. It was something I saw as a challenge for myself, it's something that I've been looking to do since I've stopped playing.
“After speaking to the board and to Davie Martindale, it was a good chance for me to get on the coaching and managers ladder and hopefully prove myself again. I had no issues with coming back to Scotland. There was no issues with Scotland when I was up at Hearts. That was never the case. It's a funny old game, you just never know where you're going to be in this industry.
“But again, like I said before, I think it was the opportunity to come, to lift Livingston up, to hopefully go and have a good season and get this club back into the Premier League. I think it was more for the opportunity to come up and prove to people that I can do the job.
Why did Glenn Whelan leave Hearts?
“Obviously, the experience that I had at Hearts, I know a lot of people said that it didn't work out, but for me, again, you take the best out of everything and Hearts is a big club. At the time, it was probably going through a transitional period, which wasn't great, but it turned a little bit sour.
“Not on my part, it was more the manager who was coming in who didn't want me. He had a different way of playing and what he tried to do, so, it was never the case of Scotland itself. But for me coming in here, we've got some staff who know the league, who know the players and they can help us going forward. Just for me, I think it's just obviously working with Livingston and trying to improve the players that we've got.