German legend Felix Magath applies to become Hearts' new manager

German coach Felix Magath has applied to be the next Hearts manager

Germany's three-time Bundesliga-winning coach Felix Magath has applied to become the new manager of Hearts, the Evening News can reveal. The 66-year-old is extremely keen to work in Scotland and has submitted his CV to the Edinburgh club's owner, Ann Budge.

Magath faces plenty competition for the role with more than 30 applicants having contacted Budge since she sacked Craig Levein 11 days ago. The German believes he can help restore Hearts as Scottish football's third force and mount a consistent trophy challenge to Celtic and Rangers.

He would not be put off by the salary on offer at Tynecastle, which would be considerably less than what he earned at previous clubs like Fulham, Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg and Shandong Luneng in China. He is also happy working alongside a sporting director - which Hearts intend to appoint - having done so throughout his career.

Magath won the Bundesliga twice as head coach of Bayern in 2005 and 2006, and then guided unfancied Wolfsburg to the title in 2009. He also achieved back-to-back league and cup doubles in Bavaria in 2005 and 2006. He was named German Football Manager of the Year in 2003, 2005 and 2009.

He most recently worked at Shandong Luneng in 2017 but applied for the Scotland national coach's job last year prior to Alex McLeish's appointment. Magath has wanted to manage in Scotland for many years and was interviewed by Rangers in 2015 before they hired Stuart McCall. He has previously been in charge of many other reputable German clubs including Hamburg, Nurnberg, Werder Bremen, Stuttgart and Schalke.

Hearts have started the process of sifting through CVs of those who want the manager's job but are determined not to rush any appointment. Assistant coach Austin MacPhee remains in interim charge of the first team, with a sporting director also expected to arrive in the coming weeks.