Jim Jefferies had to face reality as Hearts accepted an increased a bid from Rangers for Lee Wallace to prevent the possibility of losing the defender for nothing. After making a couple of unsuccessful bids for the Scotland international, the Ibrox club confirmed this afternoon that they have agreed to sign defender for £1.5million, subject to a medical. Jefferies, currently in Norway to watch Paksi SE beat Tromso away to earn the right to host Hearts in the Europa League third qualifier next week, had worked hard to persuade Wallace to extend his contract at Tynecastle and that when this failed it was a case of cashing in on their asset.
He said: "First and foremost we wanted to sign Lee on a longer-term contract but he said he was ambitious and he had opportunities to leave. That's the prerogative of players these days. So the club had to make a decision on a player that could leave for nothing at the end of the season. He gave the club the situation but he said that if the club could get a fee for him then he would have been happy. Lee Wallace is a quality player. An English Premier League side and Rangers were in for him and that speaks volumes. Rangers were keen on him and money is important to any club The club have got to get money in for quality, you can't lose it for nothing. Lee has been fantastic about it all. There has been a lot of speculation since he returned to pre-season training but he just got on with it and was never at my door. So we wish him all the best. He was fantastic for Hearts."
Jefferies acknowledged that Wallace could be in the opposition side which will start the season after unfurling the SPL flag at Ibrox on Saturday. He said: "That's the life of a football manager. We knew there was a chance we could lose Lee so we got Danny Grainger in and we have cover in that position."
Meanwhile, Hearts assistant boss Billy Brown does not expect to see Ally McCoist's appointment as successor to Walter Smith to make any difference to the Scottish champions. He said: "I was down at Blackpool to watch them the other night and they were no difference in that Rangers team to the one I seen last season. They are competitive, resilient, and dangerous. Don't underestimate Ally. He has been with Walter Smith for a while and knows the score. The team is not going to change dramatically. I think Ally is wise enough not to change everything drastically. So I wouldn't expect Rangers to falter in any way. I think they have the right man at the helm, a good football man, who knows what he is doing. I don't think there will be a lot of changes to the way Walter ran the club."