Hearts sign old foe Laszlo as manager

Heart of Midlothian have confirmed the appointment of Csaba Laszlo as their new manager. The Romanian-born coach has concluded negotiations with club officials after arriving in Edinburgh on Thursday.

Hearts had received permission to speak to Laszlo from the Ugandan Football Association, where the former Ferencvaros manager worked as national team coach. Laszlo is best known to Hearts fans as the man who clashed with the Tynecastle head coach, John Robertson, at a 2004 Uefa Cup tie between Ferencvaros and the Edinburgh club.

The 44-year-old, who also held coaching roles with Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hungary, has signed a three-year contract. He will work with the sporting director, Anatoly Korobochka, on all first-team matters.

Hearts began looking for a new coach on 1 January when they ended an unsuccessful experiment with a coaching triumvirate of Korobochka and his assistants, Angel Chervenkov and Stephen Frail. Frail was appointed caretaker as Hearts announced they were looking for a manager with experience of British football. They now have one who has none.

The majority shareholder, Vladimir Romanov, cast his net wide after being rejected by Mark McGhee, who opted to remain at Motherwell. Frail left the club this week after being put on gardening leave as the fitness coach, Tom Ritchie, took pre-season training with Korobochka and the recalled Chervenkov.

Laszlo, who speaks Hungarian, is likely to see the team perform for the first time on Monday when they face Glentoran in a testimonial in Belfast.