ANDY Webster knows him as a defensive partner, inspirational captain and loyal friend – but it is his experience of him as a coach and manager that convinces him Steven Pressley would be ideal as the next Hearts manager.

Pressley is a name under consideration as the Tynecastle club seek a successor to Ian Cathro, who was sacked on Tuesday just seven months into the job and only four days before the kick-off to the new league season against champ-ions Celtic.

“Elvis”, currently helping out as a coach with the Strachan Football Foundation, has been seeking the right move in his managerial career since resigning as Fleetwood Town boss 12 months ago and is understood to be interested in a return to Gorgie.

The 43-year-old skippered Hearts to their 2006 Scottish Cup success after being handed the captain’s armband by Jambos director of football Craig Levein and played more than 300 times for the club after joining in 1998.

His role as spokesman for the playing squad during a dispute with controversial Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov eventually led to his departure in December 2006 and his subsequent move to Celtic.

However, though he spent five years playing beside him at Hearts, it is Webster’s stint playing under him at Coventry that has persuaded him that Pressley is the right man to take over at Tynecastle.

He said: “On a personal level, I hold him in the highest regard, from initially being a young player at Hearts and having him as my captain. He looked after me unbelievably well, not just on the park but off it as well.

“We obviously struck up a great relationship and a great partnership on the playing side of it.

“He was very successful at Hearts as a player and led the club through some interesting situations, things that don’t normally occur, and he handled those impeccably.

“He led by example and all the other things you would expect from a great captain. He’s someone I respected and someone I looked up to when I was a young player coming through at Hearts.

“Further down the line, he took me to Coventry when he was manager. That was a big decision for me, not just in terms of the football aspect of it but also the way of life.

“Obviously, I have this association with him, but it’s prob-ably more of a working relationship than a personal one. It’s a different relationship when you are manager and player.

“And, having worked under him, I can’t speak highly enough of him as a coach and a manager.

“Lots of things go into being a good manager. Whether you’re a player, a captain, a coach or a manager, it’s that respect that he commands.

“He’s obviously got a standing in the game but the manner in which he manages is great, his level of game knowledge and his understanding, his in-depth analysis goes that little bit further into attention to detail.”

Former Dundee manager Paul Hartley, St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright, Falkirk’s Peter Houston and even Northern Ireland head coach Michael O’Neill have all been mentioned as possible replacements for Cathro.

BUT Webster, coach at St Mirren and studying for a degree in Sports and Business Management, believes Pressley is just the man to take over at what he believes could prove an exciting time for Hearts.

The 35-year-old added: “Hearts are a massive club. They have got a very good squad and brought in some real talent over the summer.

“It would look to me like it’s all geared up to be successful.And I’m sure with a bit of guidance and some knowhow, and maybe a fresh pair of eyes, that can happen.

“It’s always been a club that has aimed high. The fundamentals are there, whether that’s the training ground, the players, the 
infrastructure, the fan base, the new stand.

“The tools are there and Steven has all the qualities to bring all these things together.”