Danny Grainger exclusive: Craving management pressure, a 2012 Hearts reunion, and what makes a successful season at Tynecastle

He would prefer a bit more daily intensity if the truth be known. In fact, a lot more. He runs his own Cumbria Football Academy after leaving an assistant coach’s job at Falkirk in December. It keeps him busy without being entirely satisfying.

What the former Hearts defender really craves is front-line football management work: Pressure, demands, decisions and consequences. Two years in charge of English non-league club Workington Reds gave him the bug before he joined Falkirk. Now 35, he is waiting for the right opportunity to become his own man once again.

“I knew I wasn’t going to stay at Falkirk once the manager [Paul Sheerin] had left,” said Grainger, speaking exclusively to the Evening News. “I went there for Paul so I headed back home to my family. It was a tough few months commuting and staying in hotels and I’m disappointed it didn’t work out at Falkirk.

“I’ve spoken to a couple of teams. I want to be patient and I want to go back in as a No.1 somewhere. I enjoyed working as No.2 to Paul but I do feel I want to be my own man.

“You never say never. There are probably three or four people I’m close with who I would work under as an assistant but mainly I want to be the guy in charge. I want to make the decision and I want to have that pressure. I want teams playing the way I want them to play.

“I’d like to be that head coach or manager figure. It’s very quiet at the moment. There aren’t many jobs available, be it non-league in England or lower leagues in Scotland. You see jobs come up but they’re suddenly taken within a few days.

“There’s no way I would sit here and say I need to go in at a certain level. If a club is ambitious and wants to be successful then I’m more than happy to go in there. For the moment, I’m