Ex Rams Boss in alcohol sacking claim
|
Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov was said to have sacked Mr Burley after he refused to attend a alcoholics clinic. Burley denies that he has a drink related problem and didn't see the need for him to attend any such clinic. He further claims that there had been a smear campaign to force him out at Tyncastle
Rumours about Burley's drinking had also been one of the alleged reasons that he was sacked from his former job as manager of Derby County but nothing has been confirmed either from the club or Burley himself.
The allegations seem strange for a man who was, and still is, one of the best managers in Britain at the moment. He led Derby County to the brink of promotion in the 2004-2005 when defeated in the play-offs by Preston. Similarly he led Hearts to the best start in a season during for their entire 132 year history.
Burley also had similar success's at Ipswich where he was voted Manager of the year in 2001 and led the Suffolk side into an unlikely European place.
One further sting in the tail for George Burley is the fact that Hearts owner Romanov is insistent that he will not honour the 20 months still left to serve on his Hearts contract, which amounts to nearly £1m. Romanov insists that a contract must be honoured to be valid, even though it was the Lithuanian removed him from the managers job when leading the Scottish Premier League.