It’s official: Burley signs for Scotland

Finally, we officially have a manager. Scotland signed George Burley today to a 4-year contract that will take him through the 2012 European Championships, assuming he doesn’t cut and run at the first smell of cash. Not that a Scotland manager would ever do such a thing. Seriously, though, I have a lot of respect for Burley and high hopes for his tenure. He has two months to prepare for his first test, which will be a stout one, as Croatia come to Hampden for a friendly on March 26. This will be his first opportunity not only to appear as Scotland manager, but to back up claims that he will bring a more attractive, attacking style to the Scotland team. He certainly did that for Hearts, and it shocked the SPL into an 11-match undefeated streak for the Jambos before his famous fight with Vlad Romanov sent him packing.

On a side note, news comes out today that Vlad actually fired an assistant coach at Hearts for not signing a statement calling Burley a drunk. Romanov was apparently hoping to use the statement as ammunition against Burley in future negotiations, before the relationship between the two became hopelessly negative. I’ve heard a lot from Vlad that made me cringe, but accusing a man of being a drunk, then asking his assistant to bear false witness against him, is not only criminal, it’s the lowest point yet of the ethical vacuum of the Romanov era. We forgive this sort of thing when it comes along with success. When it results in near relegation for one of the nation’s oldest and most storied clubs? Not so much.