Santini keen on Hearts

Santini: Hearts interest

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Former France coach Jacques Santini has thrown his hat into the ring to take over as the new Hearts manager.

The SPL side are searching for a new boss but have failed to lure Mark McGhee away from Motherwell, while interest in Artmedia Bratislava coach Vladimir Weiss and former Stoke manager Gudjon Thordarson appears to have cooled.

Santini, who had a brief spell in charge of Tottenham Hotspur after France's unsuccessful Euro 2004 campaign, has expressed his interest in the Tynecastle post.

Experience

Santini's Scottish representative, Alex McLaughlin, who has worked with Hearts in the past, told the Daily Express: "I have put Jacques Santini's name forward to Hearts and I am waiting to hear back from them.

"Hearts are on the lookout for a top-drawer coach with experience in the British game and, for me, Jacques Santini ticks all their boxes.

"He has shown throughout his managerial career that he is a top-level coach and I would be surprised if Hearts didn't want to follow things up."

Greece exit

Santini left Spurs after just 13 games in charge, but previously led Lyon to their first Ligue 1 title in 2002 and his work there led to him being appointed as France coach in the same year.

Despite winning 15 of his first 17 games in charge, he was not offered a new deal by the French Football Federation following a shock exit to Greece at Euro 2004.

Most recently, in 2006, he coached Auxerre, but was sacked after failing to qualify for Europe.