Salary snag holds up talks for Paulo Sergio to remain at Hearts

Paulo Sergio led Hearts to Scottish Cup glory but may not be around next seasonSNS Group

Hearts and Paulo Sergio have hit a snag over his pay as talks continue to keep the Portuguese boss at Tynecastle.

Sergio, 44, won over fans with a steady campaign under the pressure of late wage payments and a number of top team stars departing.

On May 19 he delivered Hearts their third Scottish Cup in 14 years, thrashing capital rivals Hibernian in the final, but has still had no word on whether his one year deal will be extended.

The hitch in negotiations is over a sum of compensation which was being paid to Sergio last season from his previous club, Sporting CP of Lisbon.

Hearts had been paying Sergio an amount which topped-up the compensation he was receiving. Now that has ended, the club is unwilling to increase the manager’s salary to make up the difference.

Sergio’s deal included a clause to invoke a one year extension, but that deal runs out on June 30. It is understood that Hearts must tell Sergio by Saturday whether they intend to take up the option or not.

Both parties have previously said they hope to do a deal. David Southern, the Hearts managing director, told STV: “The club want to keep Paulo Sergio, we hope that he chooses to stay as the Heart of Midlothian manager.”

In the aftermath of the Scottish Cup final, Sergio reiterated that he wanted to stay but admitted to frustration at how long it was taking to do a deal.

He said: “Everybody knows I would like to stay but until this moment I don’t have anything.

“To be honest with everybody I don’t know if I’m going to be here or not.”

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