Former Town boss George Burley is in talks with Hearts and now looks favourite for the manager's job at Tynecastle. Burley had been in a two-horse race with ex-Parma coach Nevio Scala but the Italian has ruled himself out of the running after talks with the SPL side at the weekend.

Hearts chairman George Foulkes confirmed that Burley, who resigned from his position as boss at Derby a fortnight ago, is speaking to chief executive Phil Anderton: "We are still in talks with a number of people about the job and I can confirm George Burley is one of them."

Burley turned down the chance to join Championship side Millwall last week and the Lions are expected to name Steve Claridge as manager later today.

Elsewhere, the story linking Hibs striker Derek Riordan to the Blues has resurfaced. When the story first appeared last month it was quickly knocked down by Town manager Joe Royle and his Hibernian counterpart Tony Mowbray.

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