Hearts will be onto a winner if Steve Cotterill is appointed as the new man in charge at Tynecastle.
That’s the opinion of former Scotland international Liam Kelly who experienced first hand the Englishman’s ability to galvanise a floundering side at Bristol City.
Cotterill was interviewed for the vacant position at Tynecastle on Tuesday.
Jack Ross - who is set to be named Hibs boss - and Stuart McCall have also officially met with the Tynecastle hierarchy over replacing Craig Levein.
But while the Jambos support remain split over the prospect of Cotterill taking charge, former Kilmarnock playmaker Kelly reckons the 55-year-old has all the attributes needed to manage Hearts - most notably a mix of attractive football with a winning mentality.
He said: “Steve is a winner. He demands that of his players and you can talk about training techniques and all the other things but he has been a winner all his career and I don’t see why that would ever change.
“Steve came into Bristol City in December 2013 when the club had suffered a bit of a downturn. We had been relegated from the Championship a few months before and were in the relegation zone again. But he managed to steady the ship.
“He turned it around quickly, picked up good results that season and the club ended up finishing 12th.
“The following season he brought in some fantastic players and ended up winning League One and the Football League Trophy.
“He brought a lot of success to Bristol. The success he got in such a short space of time was magnificent for the club and they really did play some fantastic football.
“He brought in some really technical players
“Most of the clubs he has been at he has done well and if he was to get the Hearts job I’m sure he will be looking to continue that.
“He is a good man manager. He treated the players well and created a real togetherness among the squad.
“There were good players there who were low on confidence when he came in but he managed to bring that back throughout the group which led to the success they had.
“He just got us back to basics and working really hard. The players worked their socks off and that was something he insisted on and rightly so. When you have every player giving their all then you put yourself in such a good position and derive confidence from that.
“When results came then the confidence snowballed into a very good period of time for the club.
“A lot of players in that squad have now gone on to play at a higher level now.”
Despite leading Bristol City back into the Championship as champions, Cotterill was bulleted by the Ashton Gate club midway through the following season as they struggled to make an impact.
A six-month spell in charge of Birmingham City in the unforgiving second tier of English football followed but again ended in the sack with the Blues hovering above the relegation zone.
But Kelly - currently at Coventry City - reckons with the right club his old boss can rediscover his magic touch. And he thinks Hearts are a good fit.
He said: “Bristol City was a big club with a big following - attendance wise probably similar to Hearts - and I’m sure if he got the opportunity then it would be a good appointment.
“He has won promotions in the English Football League and he would want to get Hearts back up to the point where they are competing with Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen - that’s where Hearts should be.
“I massively enjoyed playing against Hearts it was a terrific stadium to play in and they are clearly one of the biggest clubs in Scotland.
“It was an intimidating place to play, a fortress, and Hearts fans will be desperate to make it that again.”
