East Fife and Bristol Rovers After joining East Fife as player manager he led them to victory in the
Scottish Qualifying Cup Final in 1920-21. They became dubbed the
Terrible Trio and scored over 900 Hearts goals between them (Wardhaugh 376, Bauld 355, Conn 221). A few weeks later in December 1948, Tommy Walker left during his third season at Chelsea to return to Hearts. He took the role of player-assistant to McLean, whose intention was that Walker would be a steadying influence in a developing young team. However, after a single appearance at right-half in a 1–0 home defeat by
Dundee, Walker retired to concentrate fully on learning the managerial ropes. Tangible progress was made in the League Championship in 1949-50 when Hearts finished third. As Walker had become more influential, McLean was co-opted to the board on 16 March 1950. Walker was always quick to acknowledge the contribution made by McLean and his fatherly interest in the welfare and development of the players. The important foundations Walker inherited from McLean included the
Terrible Trio forwards, the full back pair of
Bobby Parker and
Tam McKenzie and half backs
Bobby Dougan and
Davie Laing. == References ==