Rix faces uneven battle to win hearts and minds

There is supposed to be a managers' union but Graham Rix must be secretly glad of Alex McLeish's troubles. The Rangers manager has taken the heat off the new man in charge at Heart of Midlothian but it will fill neither with optimism to learn that you can get better odds from the bookmaker for each being sacked than winning the title.

The CIS Cup defeat by Celtic last Wednesday saw McLeish knock Rix off the back pages. After four years in the job, people want a change. However, Rix has only been in his for four days. When fans jeer you on your way to the office on the first morning, you know the battle for hearts and minds may be unwinnable.

That's what happened when Rix faced a media conference at Tynecastle on Tuesday after his surprise appointment as George Burley's successor. There is a lingering suspicion among the Hearts fans that no one will effectively carry on the work of Burley whose unbeaten 10-game run before his bizarre sacking last month by owner, Vladimir Romanov, propelled the team to joint leadership of the Scottish Premier League.

However, those dreams of a first title in 45 years now rest, uneasily, in the hands of Rix. The former England player is damned by two records: one contains an unproven verdict in front-line football management, the other is the indelible mark on his CV of a 12-month jail sentence for having unlawful sex with a 15-year-old girl.

Rix, 48, who spent six months in prison after being found guilty in 1999, admitted to the Tynecastle press conference that he will not be able to supervise Hearts' youth team without a chaperone as a result of being placed on a sex offenders' register. Even though there were glowing testimonies from those he worked alongside at Chelsea - where he was assistant to Ruud Gullit and Gianluca Vialli - and then Portsmouth, who he subsequently managed, Rix has become front-page fodder in Scotland, and not just in the tabloids.

Yet the deepest source of unease for most Hearts fans is how a man who was sacked by Oxford United six months ago could be given a job that was being touted to Claudio Ranieri and Sir Bobby Robson. Martin Laidlaw, chairman of Hearts Supporters' Trust, has approached Roman Romanov, the new chairman, for another meeting.

"We have nothing else to say about Graham's personal history," said Laidlaw. "The reason for the real sense of disappointment is that a carrot was dangled in front of the supporters after George Burley's exit that we would replace him with someone even better, someone with a proven record, a European pedigree, who we would be amazed at.

"We've heard some good things from people talking up Graham, but with all respect to him, he is not in that category." The only way Rix can deflect the scrutiny is to win games but the international break means that he will have to wait until next Sunday at Aberdeen.

"This is the most excited I have been in football for years," stated Rix. "There was pressure at Chelsea but either Ruud Gullit was manager or Gianluca and I remained in the background. Now, though, I know I could be doing great stuff on the training ground but the bottom line is that I have to win matches."