The 36-year-old, who retired from playing to take up a coaching role at Hearts in 2021, will lead the Tynecastle side for the remaining seven matches of the Scottish Premiership campaign and if his audition proves successful, and he reclaims third place from Aberdeen to set up the prospect of European group stage football next season, then he will likely be in contention to land the job on a permanent basis.
This has been reflected in the bookmakers odds with the former Scotland internationalist listed as the current favourite to still be manager of the Gorgie club when the 2023-24 season kicks off in August.
Should Hearts decide to turn to a more experienced coach then there is a whole list of candidates who the bookies reckons could be in the frame including the recently departed ex-Chelsea assistant manager and the current head coach of Brentford B team.
Here are the top names listed by McBookie as most likely to be Hearts manager for the opening league match of next season…
9. David Martindale 12/1
While Livingston are on a poor run of form and battling for a place in the top-six of the Premiership, the job the 48-year-old has done in West Lothian has been remarkable at times given his budget. He has often said he has no desire to leave Livingston and he has not been in contention for jobs such as Aberdeen recently despite his rising stock. Photo: Mark Scates - SNS Group
10. Derek McInnes - 12/1
The Kilmarnock manager is currently battling to keep the Rugby Park club in the Premiership after winning promotion from the Championship last term. An eight-year spell at Aberdeen produced one League Cup final win and four second place finishes behind Celtic. Photo: Mark Scates - SNS Group
11. Graham Arnold 12/1
The 59-year-old made history at Qatar 2022 when he guided the Australia national team into the knock-out phase of the World Cup for the first time. A move to Hearts where he would join up with four Australian internationalists would allow him to test himself in the European domain, as Ange Postecoglou has with great success at Celtic. Photo: Matt King
12. Martí Cifuentes 14/1
The 40-year-old Spanish coach was recently linked with Aberdeen on the back of guiding Hammarby to a third-placed finish in Sweden’s Allsvenskan, and could tick some of the boxes if Hearts want to look at a foreign coach who is climbing the football ladder. Photo: Twitter: @MCC14