Hearts back in frame as Dons drop Miller interest

HEARTS are ready to rekindle their interest in Lee Miller after Aberdeen pulled the plug on a bid to sign the Bristol City striker.

The Pittodrie club lost patience with the player after he failed to respond to their offer by yesterday's deadline. Willie Miller, Aberdeen's director of football, says the deal is now dead, leaving the field clear for Hearts and Dundee United.

United manager Gordon Chisholm met with chairman Eddie Thompson yesterday to discuss the players he wants to bring to the club and it is understood Miller is one of them.

Hearts, meanwhile, say their offer to the striker remains on the table but have put the onus on Miller and his agent to resume negotiations.

Phil Anderton, the Tynecastle chief executive, said: "We're always interested in quality players. We put a good offer on the table but made it clear at the time we didn't want to get dragged into an auction. But if the player and his agent want to come back and talk, we'll talk. The player has already indicated a desire to play for Hearts and there's a very good offer on the table."

Miller, 22, scored 11 goals in 23 games while on loan at Hearts this season and was expected to make the move permanent. The Edinburgh club agreed an initial £225,000 transfer fee with Bristol City but the deal foundered when he failed to respond to the personal terms offered by Hearts.

It was a similar scenario at Aberdeen yesterday. A fee had been agreed but Miller gave no answer to the offer of a three-year contract by the lunchtime deadline, much to his namesake Willie's frustration.

The Pittodrie club will complete the £250,000 transfer of midfielder Barry Nicholson from Dunfermline this week but a top quality goalscorer remains the priority.

That's why Willie Miller is ready to increase his offers for Dundee's Steve Lovell and Kilmarnock's Kris Boyd after making it clear to the Bristol City forward that he will not be mucked about indefinitely.

He said yesterday: "I have pulled the plug on the deal to take Lee Miller to Pittodrie. I took this decision after asking for a definitive answer by today and that answer was not forthcoming.

"There is no point in messing about if a player isn't committed to this club. If there is any doubt in their mind, they are better off elsewhere. I want the type who is prepared to play for Aberdeen for reasons other than purely financial. I want players with ambition who want job satisfaction and can see where this club is going.

"Other options are available to us. We have always been interested in Steve Lovell and Kris Boyd, players who would add the quality needed to our squad. Discussions with Dundee and Kilmarnock are ongoing but we have not quite reached the stage where these clubs are satisfied with out offers and are prepared to allow us to talk to their players."

Taken from the Scotsman