Motherwell have rejected Hearts' request to speak to manager Mark McGhee.

The Edinburgh club made their move on Friday, following the end of the Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League season.

McGhee steered Motherwell to third place and UEFA Cup qualification in his first year at Fir Park, while Hearts finished in eighth.

But a statement on the Motherwell website read: "Motherwell Football Club can today confirm that it has received an official from Heart of Midlothian Football Club, seeking permission to speak with current manager Mark McGhee about the vacant managerial role at Tynecastle.

"After consideration, the Motherwell FC Board of Directors have decided to refuse this request."

The approach from Hearts came as no great surprise, with their interest in McGhee having been well known.

McGhee had claimed on Thursday night he would need to think "long and hard" about turning his back on Motherwell as speculation over his future mounted.

After his side's impressive 2-0 win at Hibernian, he insisted he had no plans to leave Fir Park and had not spoken with Hearts.

McGhee said: "I will be here until something changes and that will require another club, if that's what's going to happen, to speak to Motherwell.

"And then there will still be a lot of discussion because we have reached Europe. I'm looking forward to that at the moment.

"I have got no plans but other people might be making plans so we will just have to wait and see.

"If someone does come in for me I am going to have to really think long and hard about it.

"I have moved before and it has ended up not being the right thing. So I will think twice about anything we do."

McGhee had spells as a manager in England with Reading, Leicester, Wolves, Brighton and Millwall before accepting the Motherwell job in June last year.

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