We've not given up on Lee yet, says McGlynn

INTERIM Hearts boss John McGlynn today insisted he has not given up hope of landing striker Lee Miller.

Aberdeen appear to be in pole position to sign the 22-year-old following the Jambos' withdrawal of a lucrative offer after the player's agent Mark Donaghy failed to meet a 5pm deadline on Thursday.

The front man, who has smashed 11 goals for Hearts since joining on loan from Bristol City in January, was today having further talks with Dons director of football Willie Miller over a possible move to the Granite City.

It is understood Aberdeen want an answer to their proposals today with Calderwood also pursuing Dundee's Steve Lovell and Kris Boyd of Kilmarnock as well as a couple of foreign targets.

Despite the Dons also having a bid for the front man accepted by City, McGlynn remains hopeful that Hearts can still prevail in their attempts to keep the fans favourite in Gorgie. "I would hope that we could still do something and I don't think the deal is dead in the water," he said. "I'm not exactly sure what the situation is but I can understand the club's stance in withdrawing their initial offer as we don't want to get involved in an auction. The club has a budget and wage structure which it has to stick to and we could get into trouble if we go over that."

Miller insisted he was mentally prepared to face Jimmy Calderwood's side at Pittodrie yesterday but he was substituted after 65 minutes of the Jambos' 2-0 defeat after failing to make much of an impression.

"The lad was keen to play and we didn't have any reservations about fielding him but I don't think it was his day," said Mc Glynn. "He obviously had a lot on his mind, which is understandable. But we felt it was worth taking the chance."

The stand-in Jambos chief praised goalkeeper Craig Gordon after the Scotland star produced a number of high-calibre stops to keep the Dons at bay in the second half. "Craig Gordon had to make a couple of good saves. We knew Aberdeen would have a go at us," said McGlynn. "We thought Craig would have a busy match. He was excellent."

Calderwood criticised Hearts for time wasting in the game - Paul Hartley was yellow carded in the second half after ignoring an earlier warning from referee Ian Fyfe - but McGlynn didn't think much of his complaints. He said: "I have been to every SPL game this season and I don't think there was any more time wasting yesterday than in the others."

Taken from the Scotsman