Mark Posted 5 May 2005 Posted 5 May 2005 LIVINGSTON and Scotland star David McNamee is set to snub Hearts because of the turmoil surrounding John Robertson’s future as manager.McNamee spent last Wednesday week being shown around Hillsborough by Sheffield Wednesday manager Paul Sturrock, and followed that up with a secret four-hour meeting with officials from Dutch side Den Haag on Saturday evening. Both clubs are pushing a pen into McNamee’s hand, leaving Robertson frustrated as the review to be carried out by the Hearts board proves detrimental to his plans to recruit new faces. He said today: "It would help to get an answer on my future to try and tell potential players coming in what the set-up will be next season. There are two or three players we’ve approached who have said they’ll consider joining if myself and Donald [Park] are here next year. One or two have said no because they want to wait and see what’s happening first." Sturrock is keen to sign an international right-back as the position has been a problem one for him this season. "Paul rates David very highly and they got on very well at their meeting last week," said a source close to the player. Den Haag’s representatives sat anonymously in the Almondvale main stand at the weekend as McNamee turned in an impressive performance in Livingston’s 2-0 defeat of Dunfermline, and are now ready to make their move. Robertson is also desperate to secure the 24-year-old on a pre-contract agreement, but is precluded from doing so whilst the Hearts board deliberate over whether the manager has a long-term future at Tynecastle. It appears the stalling is now hampering prospective plans for next season, with McNamee’s Livingston team-mate Burton O’Brien also on Hearts’ wanted list. Without the means to offer him a deal, Robertson again looks like missing out as the midfielder is now expected to head south to Craig Levein’s Leicester City.
Steven Posted 15 May 2005 Posted 15 May 2005 FOOTBALL: THERE'S NO BORDER LIMIT FOR O'BRIENMay 15 2005 By Gavin Berry LIVINGSTON skipper Burton O'Brien would love another crack at English football despite his last move south of the border turning to disaster. The midfielder played just 45 minutes of a Worthington Cup tie in three years at Blackburn after signing as a teenager from St Mirren. O'Brien had moved to Rovers with high hopes but it turned sour when Graeme Souness replaced Brian Kidd, the man who had signed him. He was never given a chance under Souness and Davie Hay took him to West Lothian three years ago. But despite three years in the wilderness at Blackburn, the Almondvale ace insists he'd still like to play in England. His contract is up and he faces his biggest decision since joining Rovers in a £600,000 double deal with team-mate David McNamee in 1999. O'Brien has returned to prominence with some superb performances to earn the April Player of the Month awardThose displays have seen him linked with Craig Levein's Leicester, among others, and O'Brien said: 'I'll look at my options in the summer. But ask any player and they'll tell you they want to play down south. 'It didn't work out at Blackburn - David and I were too young - but we couldn't knock back the chance. 'However I'm better for the experience and know what it's like to move away from home. 'The standard of players, the stadiums, the coverage and the fans - everything that comes with football down there is great. 'The Premiership is arguably the greatest league in the world so that's where you want to play. 'And if you get knocked back you want to prove people wrong, the same as in any walk of life. 'I'm no different from anyone else.' O'Brien - still embroiled in an international tug-of-war between his native South Africa and Scotland - paid tribute to Livi's management duo of Richard Gough and Archie Knox who have helped turn the club around after they seemed destined for the drop. He said: 'Richard's been fantastic for everyone at the club, not just me. You can only learn from guys of his and Archie Knox's experience. 'All along they've just tried to get it into our heads to go out and enjoy ourselves despite the position we've been in - and it's worked".
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