Peter Fairley (1901-03)
Hearts team affairs were run by the board of directors from 1874 until the appointment of Peter Fairley in 1901. However, the historic first manager/secretary concentrated more on the latter position, with the board still selecting the team line-ups.

William Waugh (1903-08 )
Waugh had more power than Fairley, more so as Hearts had by now become a limited company, and he was actively involved in advising the board on the instruction of players and team selection. He resigned in 1908 to run a bar in Broxburn after applying unsuccessfully for the Arsenal job.

James McGhee (1908-09)
Ex-Hibernian player McGhee was under immediate pressure to produce a winning side due to his Hibs connections. His strict conduct code at a time when players lived free and easy did not go down well with constant unrest in the dressing-room. He resigned the following season after receiving heavy criticism for suspending the legendary Bobby Walker who did not turn up for a match.

John McCartney (1910-19)
Hearts appointed St Mirren boss McCartney from a lengthy list of applicants. He built a fine side based on local talent, a team that would surely have won honours but for the interruption of the First World War, when the entire squad volunteered to serve their country and many paid the ultimate price. This fact may have had a personal affect on the manager who decided to join Portsmouth in October 1919.

William McCartney (1919-35)
The son of the previous manager, and a senior referee, William spent 16 seasons at Tynecastle. With a never-ending conveyer belt of wonderful players, such as White, Walker, Harkness, Battles and Massie, to name but a few, he could not put together a consistent side to bring honours to Gorgie. He resigned in June 1935 after a boardroom re-shuffle.

David Pratt (1935-37)
Ex-Celtic player David Pratt was the next manager. The former Notts County boss was unable to stop the drift of the club's best players south of the border. He obviously became frustrated and joined the flow, resigning and returning to England in early 1937.

Frank Moss (1937-40)
Ex-Arsenal and England goalkeeper Frank Moss was only 28 when he became Hearts boss, due to a shoulder injury that ended his playing career. His training and coaching skills, learned at Highbury, would have moulded a fine side, but he returned home at the outbreak of the Second World War. He was the first Tynecastle boss to have full team selection powers.

David McLean (1941-51)
Hearts played without a manager for almost a year before David McLean was appointed. A kind, fatherly figure, David's dedication to a youth policy was to stand the club in good stead during the 1950s and early 1960s. Unfortunately David did not see the fruits of his labours, passing away in February 1951.

Tommy Walker (1951-66)
The legendary Tommy Walker, who had been McLean's assistant, took charge adding a few new players that turned Hearts into a great side, a team that could and should have won more than the 2 Championships, 1 Scottish Cup and 4 League Cups between 1954 and 1962. Hearts struggled after the side broke up, and the more defensive and tactical game in the 1960s did not suit Walker, who resigned in 1966.

John Harvey (1966-70)
John Harvey, club trainer since 1952, was Walker's replacement. Johnny tried to concentrate on a youth policy similar to David McLean's with only limited success during a difficult time for the club. In November 1970 he decided to hand the job over to a younger man.

Bobby Seith (1970-74)
Ex-Dundee defender and Scotland youth coach Bobby Seith took command. He was a fine tactician, but the club struggled financially and could not find the funds to help him strengthen the weaknesses in the side. Following a string of bad results in 1974, Bobby was dismissed.

John Hagart (1974-77)
The enthusiastic John Hagart was given the chance to turn around the Club's fortunes. His enthusiasm and coaching ability lifted the players into the new Premier Division in 1975; however, within two years Hearts were relegated for the first time in their history and Hagart, accepting responsibility, paid the price.

Willie Ormond (1977-80)
Hearts turned to former Scotland boss Willie Ormond whose first task was to build up the playing staff after the previous season's clear-out. The new men were good enough to win promotion, but others could not keep the club in the top division with relegation again in 1979. This was one of the worst spells in the club's history with crowds at rock bottom. Boardroom changes led to Ormond losing his job in early 1980 with Hearts top of the league but not playing well, with Willie never really accepted by many fans due to his Hibernian connections.

Bobby Moncur (1980-81)
Former Scotland international captain Bobby Moncur was appointed within a month of Ormond's dismissal. Bobby was in charge for just over a year, resigning shortly after Wallace Mercer became major shareholder in 1981. Hearts were relegated for the third time under Moncur, but importantly the introduction of some promising youngsters such as Gary Mackay, David Bowman and John Robertson onto the playing staff was to prove significant.

Tony Ford (1981)
Assistant to Moncur, Tony Ford was put in charge of team affairs, but early results suggested that Hearts were moving in the wrong direction. The fans were questioning the manager's tactics, the board agreed with the fans, and Ford lost his job in December 1981, following a string of poor results.


Alex MacDonald (1982-90)
Sandy Jardine was co-manager from November 1986 to November 1988
Alex MacDonald took over the manager's job two months later. He immediately signed some proven, experienced players to complement the the promising youngsters. In an eight-and-a-half year spell, Alex took the club out of the doldrums and turned it into a team to be proud of. In that same spell Hearts were unlucky on a few occasions, not to win a trophy, with some fine players wearing the famous maroon jersey. Following a poor start to the 1990-91 season the board felt a change was needed and Alex lost his job.

Joe Jordan (1990-93)
The Board turned to a high profile name ex-Scotland international striker Joe Jordan. Joe took the club to a runners up spot in the Premier Division and two Scottish Cup semi-finals, but again following a poor run in 1993 (which included a 6-0 thrashing at Falkirk) Jordan lost his job. Once more however, financial problems were a major factor.

Sandy Clark (1993-94)
Following three weeks as caretaker boss, Sandy Clark was appointed manager, and adopted Alex MacDonald's policy in signing experienced and proven players to augment the promising youngsters that Sandy had nurtured previous season in his role as reserve and youth team coach. The mixture however took a while to gel with Hearts finishing in a dangerously low position in the Premier Division. In a further boardroom change that saw Wallace Mercer sell out to Chris Robinson and Leslie Deans, Clark lost his job.

Tommy McLean (1994-95)
The new regime went for experience in ex-Motherwell boss Tommy McLean, however it was anything but a successful season for a Hearts side that again just escaped the relegation play-offs by two points, despite major changes on the playing staff. McLean, who never appeared happy at Tynecastleand had hinted about resigning, was saved the bother by the board of directors, who dismissed him three pre-season tour matches into the 1995-96 season.

Jim Jefferies (1995-2000)
Fans' favourite Jim Jefferies took over the reigns and will always be a hero along with the players who brought the Scottish Cup to Tynecastle in 1998. Jim had a good record in his five years at Tynecastle, with a further two cup final (1 League, 1 Scottish) appearances and two third-placed league finishes. Unfortunately, the modern day game with the Bosman ruling, financial problems, and so on quickly broke up the cup-winning team, with other top players having to be sold. Jim left the club in late 2000, after a period of mixed results.

Craig Levein (2000-2004)
The Board then turned to former player Craig Levein, who was learning his trade as manager of Cowdenbeath. Despite severe financial problems Craig and his coaching staff did a marvellous job with some shrewd signings, plus the introduction of the promising youngsters on the staff, resulting in third place in the SPL being achieved in his final two seasons at Tynecastle. Having done such a fine job in Gorgie, it was no surprise to see Craig, and his assistant Peter Houston lured to the big challenge of taking charge at Premiership chasing Leicester City on 29th October 2004.

John Robertson (2004-2005)
Hearts' twenty-second manager could hardly have been a more popular choice. The appointment of record goalscorer John Robertson as head coach on 3rd November 2004, the day before the team faced Schalke 04 in the UEFA Cup group stages, was swift. Joining from Inverness Caledonian Thistle, whom he had guided into the Scottish Premier League for the first time, Robbo instantly set the target of maintaining the success of previous years, while introducing a more free-flowing brand of football. However, Robbo did not realise such targets and parted company with the club on 9th May 2005 after the board completed a review of football operations at the club.

George Burley (2005)
George only served as Hearts manager for a short time, during which he oversaw a number of new players arriving at the club and with it, some very good results. He left after four months, however, with both parties citing "irrevocable differences".

Graham Rix (2005-2006)
Graham Rix was appointed head coach in November 2005, however his reign was short lived. Although a likeable person, the former Chelsea coach was dismissed in March 2006 after the team failed to produce the sort of results and performances expected. Graham's period in charge also included the recruitment of a remarkable eleven players during the January transfer window. Of that number Jose Goncalves proved to be the most exciting addition. Graham was dismissed from his post by chairman Roman Romanov in March 2006.

Valdas Ivanauskas (2006-2007)
Hearts first coach from outside the UK was appointed on an interim basis, but after delivering the Tennent's Scottish Cup with a win over Gretna, and a place in the UEFA Champions League as Bank of Scotland Premierleague runners-up, the popular Lithuanian was handed the job on a permament basis. He left in February 2007, having previously spent a period away from Tynecastle suffering from illness.

Anatoly Korobochka (2007-2008)
The club's sport director spent six months in charge, however the move did not prove to be successful. Angel Chervenkov, who had worked with Anatoly (who's actual role was sport director), left the club on 31st December, and Anatoly returned to his previous role 'upstairs'.

Stephen Frail (2008 -
Former player Stephen Frail stepped up from the role of assistant coach on 1st January 2008 to become the club's caretaker manager, with Hearts confirming it will seek to appoint a first 'football manager' since the arrival of George Burley.