Gary Mackay: David Weir or Donald Park as Hearts' sporting director for me

Donald Park has been coaching at youth level with Hearts in recent years.

Both David Weir and Donald Park have been mentioned to me as possible candidates for the sporting director role at Hearts. I don't know Adrian Bevington so I can't really comment on him.

Both David and Donald have different skill sets but both have a definite class about them. David had a class about him on and off the pitch and would be a fabulous appointment.

I went to John Murray 10 or 12 years ago and told him there were only two people who had a proven track record of developing young players at Hibs or Hearts.

Sandy Clark was one. He nurtured a squad of young Hearts players that had never been bettered during the 1990s. The other was Donald Park. He had done the same at Hibs.

If you are looking at the sporting director's remit being overseeing the academy, knowledge of young coaches coming through, and a brilliant track record in youth development, then you couldn't get anybody better than Donald Park.

He has been working at youth level with Hearts for a few years now and has an excellent reputation. David is loans manager at Brighton and Hove Albion, so his network of contacts will be second to none.

Neither David nor Donald are egotistical. They don't need to push themselves to be respected, they are just fully focused on helping the people they work with. It's that natural way that people do respect.

It does take a massive skill set to oversee the whole football operation. You must be able to work with children, young adults and then adults and their families. You want to get respect from all of them, parents included.

Knowing these two guys as individuals, if they had been appointed as sporting director by Hearts as far back as five or six years ago, I would have taken them in a minute. Nothing since has changed my mind.

I can't apologise for my criticism of Ann Budge in recent months because I think it has been valid and I stand by it, but I do recognise she is doing her absolute best to improve the club.

Maybe what she has learned over time is to go with her thoughts and those of her board, rather than being influenced by somebody who had a personal vested interest – not the vested interest of the football club.

The people we are speaking about coming in now, and I include Robbie Neilson in this, have no desire for personal accolades. They work for the betterment of the football club.

That’s what Hearts need if they are to get themselves back challenging at the top end of Scottish football.

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