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Burley leaves Hearts

22/10/2005

George Burley has parted company "by mutual consent" with Scottish Premier League leaders Hearts after irreconcilable differences between the board and the manager.

Burley, who had guided the Edinburgh club to the top of the SPL with eight wins and two draws from their ten games this season, was known to be unhappy with the interference of club chairman Vladimir Romanov in the day-to-day running of the team.

The departure of Burley, who only arrived at Tynecastle in the summer, became known only a couple of hours before Hearts' home game with Dunfermline.

First team coach John McGlynn took charge of the side for the match, which Hearts won 2-0, and featured players, such as Scottish international midfielder Paul Hartley, wearing t-shirts labelled "for the gaffer".

Hearts chairman George Foulkes said that he couldn't fully explain the circumstances behind Burley's departure but said that the club will take time to find the right manager.

"It's important for the fans that we look to the future and we are determined to get a top class manager," Foulkes said.

"We are not going to rush it but we're also not going to have undue delay and I can say the club will go from strength to strength."

Burley always insisted that he had total control over team selection but often found players signed by chairman Romanov, known as the Scottish version of Chelsea billionaire Roman Abramovich, without his knowledge.

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