The Review: A safe pair of hands... Derek McInnes could be just what Hearts need as they enter a new era

Daily Mail​

12-05-2025

Just a few short weeks ago, Kilmarnock fans had become so disenchanted with their team that there were polls online, asking whether Derek McInnes should be allowed to continue as manager.
Not only had they failed to make the top six, they were flirting with relegation and the fear was that it had all gone a bit stale under the man who had guided them out of the Championship and into Europe during his first two years there.
Well, it looks as though McInnes is indeed on his way out of Rugby Park, but not because they want rid of him. Rather, he has emerged as the leading candidate to take over at Hearts, who are expected to make an official approach any time now.
It's a fickle business, football management. You don't become a bad, or indeed good, manager overnight, but some in Kilmarnock lost patience with McInnes and allowed themselves to forget the body of work that had singled him out as a manager of substance.
Yes, it's been a tough season for Kilmarnock. Like just about every other club outwith the Old Firm, they struggled to meet the European challenge and took far too long to recover from it. A spate of red cards and injuries also contributed to a campaign in which they were always playing catch-up.
But, when it came to the crunch, McInnes produced. Three straight wins since the split, four in their last five games, have guaranteed safety for the Ayrshire club and hauled them comfortably clear of the relegation zone.
They confirmed their survival with a 3-2 triumph over Dundee at Rugby Park on Saturday, when McInnes celebrated with supporters, presumably aware that he could be leaving. If he is, he will be relieved to do so on the back of a sequence that befits his time at the club.
Of course, you might attribute their recent turnaround to the quality of opponent in the bottom six. Or perhaps the return of centre-half Stuart Findlay, who had missed most of the season.
But it is also true that McInnes knows how to win matches. While it isn't always as pretty as it might be, he is a safe pair of hands whose work over an extended period is impressive.
This is something Hearts have come to acknowledge, although you wonder why it has taken them so long. If McInnes is the man for the job now, why was he not their target last year when they turned up their nose at a homegrown manager and opted instead for Neil Critchley?
The Englishman proved to be out of his depth, lacking knowledge of Scottish football, as well as a big-club mentality. At Hearts, it is as important to say all the right things, as well as do them.
That won't be a problem for media-savvy McInnes, who is steeped in Scottish football, with a history of challenging the Old Firm during his eight years with Aberdeen. He could be exactly what Hearts need as they hope, with the backing of Tony Bloom, to usher in an exciting, new era at Tynecastle.
McInnes will divide opinion among Hearts fans, who aren't the easiest to please. He is not fresh or sexy enough for some of them, who worry that his football will not be in keeping with the club's traditions.
But McInnes likes his wingers, his big centre-forwards and you can bet he would have got more from this leggy, one-dimensional Hearts team than Critchley did. Might he bring with him David Watson, the dynamic young Kilmarnock midfielder? Or Danny Armstrong, who turned down Hearts in January?
He might also have the clout to persuade Lawrence Shankland that he should stay at Tynecastle. The striker is out of contract this summer, but talks over a new one have resumed and he has been looking more like his old self since Critchley's departure. Four goals in his last two games included a brace in the 3-0 home win over Motherwell on Saturday.
You suspect sometimes that McInnes would be more appreciated if he hadn't spent almost all of his managerial career in Scotland. Even Aberdeen grew a bit tired of him in the end, embarking instead on an ill-fated plan to play more attractive football under a young, 'modern' coach.
Familiarity hasn't exactly bred contempt for McInnes, but he is taken for granted in some quarters, perhaps because he is not foreign, his potential is unfulfilled in England and he turned down Rangers and Sunderland in 2017.
And yet, that should be what makes him attractive. Burned in the 15-month spell he spent in charge of Bristol City, McInnes has since discovered that his best chance to succeed is at a Scottish club, with the right vision, the right resources and the right infrastructure. He and Hearts sound like a pretty good fit.