Revenge isn’t on menu as Sergio reveals Rangers loss didn’t get him the sack at Sporting

Eight months on, he is set to go head to head with Rangers again but the 43-year-old is keen to set the record straight over his departure at Sporting.

“I was not sacked after the Rangers game,” said Sergio, whose side can move within eight points of the reigning champions with victory in today’s televised encounter.

“Last week I read that I was sacked last season but that’s not true. I talked to the only director, Jose Couceiro, and said, ‘it’s not for me’. I told Jose, who’s now the coach at Lokomotiv Moscow, ‘it’s enough for me, I’m killing myself here all alone’.

“The way things happened were like this, I got no support, nothing. You have to remember that I was without a board and directors since December. We were waiting for elections in March, it was an unbelievable story at Sporting last season. For three or four months I worked alone and things like that should not happen.

“Last season all the fans were sad with what was happening and week after week I was the only face. It becomes really bad for me to deal with that and it was better for the team and the players to make a change, and that change was me.”

It is this explanation of events that ensures Sergio is not motivated by revenge when Hearts host Rangers today.

He added: “I didn’t think I would be coming up against Rangers so soon but I’m not thinking about about last season. What happened at Sporting does not matter to this, it’s what happens now.”

Hearts midfielder Adrian Mrowiec, meanwhile, has expressed his disappointment that he has been completely overlooked by the Poland national team ahead of next summer’s European Championships.

The former under-21 internationalist believed his form would attract the interest of national team coach Franciszek Smuda.

The 27-year-old said: “A couple of weeks ago I saw the coach said his squad was closed, he has a group of 25 players and he won’t pick any outside of that.

“It’s disappointing, of course, everyone wants to play for their national team.

“Playing in Scotland, I thought I would have more chance of playing for the national team than if I was back in Poland.

“I hoped someone would come and watch me. But no one has come and no one has called me.

“I haven’t had a phone call from the federation which I don’t understand because the SPL is better than the Polish league – we play against teams like Rangers and Celtic.

“No one is interested in coming to watch me. They haven’t even asked for any DVDs of me.

“Of course, I’d like a chance and it’s upsetting that they’ve never given me it.”

The disappointment at missing out is heightened by the fact that next summer’s tournament is taking place in his own country and Ukraine.

And Mrowiec added: “I will go to Poland for the Euros next summer as a fan, maybe go to a few of their games.

“It’s exciting for the Polish people but we have to wait and see who we draw in the group in December – I hope we’re lucky.”