Daniel Stendel: Hearts say Barnsley's claim for compensation 'entirely without merit'
- Published
Hearts: Daniel Stendel arrives in Edinburgh ahead of taking over at Tynecastle
Hearts say Barnsley's claim for compensation over the appointment of new manager Daniel Stendel is "entirely without merit".
The 45-year-old takes over at the Scottish Premiership side on Tuesday having left Barnsley on 8 October.
Barnsley say they have "attempted negotiations of a settlement for the services of Stendel, Chris Stern, and Dale Tonge to no avail".
But Hearts say they "followed all proper procedures".
"He was not an employee of Barnsley Football Club when we first consulted him and there is no basis on which Heart of Midlothian Football Club is liable to Barnsley Football Club," a Hearts statement added.
"Misleading reports and statements to the contrary elsewhere are entirely false. Should any claim be commenced against Heart of Midlothian Football Club, it will be defended in the strongest possible terms."
Earlier on Monday, the Championship's bottom side Barnsley issued their own statement about Stendel and coaches Stern and Tonge.
"After two months of unproductive discussions (and the subsequent public announcement by Heart of Midlothian that he has joined them as their new manager), the club cannot wait any longer in speaking to its fans," the statement said.
"More recently we have attempted negotiations of a settlement with Heart of Midlothian Football Club for the services of Mr Stendel, Chris Stern, and Dale Tonge to no avail.
"The club will continue to vigorously defend its rights against all parties involved in tampering of club staff so the club recovers all damages incurred. All recovered damages will be reinvested in our squad."
Daniel Stendel led Barnsley to promotion to the Championship in May, but won just one of his 11 games in charge in the second tier
The statement also revealed more details on why German Stendel had left Oakwell.
"Early in the season Daniel Stendel entered into negotiations with a rival Championship club, to take over their managerial post," the club statement added.
"Never once did Mr Stendel seek approval or alert members of the club's board to these discussions.
"Only when approached, by the board, was there any sign of acknowledgement. This was a clear violation of Mr Stendel's contract and created additional unnecessary distractions for our club which was recently promoted to the Championship.
"This event, coupled with numerous other issues, led to removal of Mr Stendel as head coach."
Barnsley have just 12 points from 20 games and have conceded 41 goals, two more than in the entire League One campaign under Stendel.
