Hearts boss makes 'secret admirer' admission and reveals his starting XI dilemma vs Aberdeen

The Jambos have enjoyed a strong start to life under their new head coach, beating English Premier League side Sunderland 3-0 in Craig Gordon’s testimonial at the weekend on the back of winning all four of their Premier Sports Cup group games. However, their focus will now switch to a difficult league opener against Scottish Cup winners Aberdeen on Monday.

Expected to be two of the sides vying for a European position this season, the early season clash is a chance for both teams to put down an early marker, with Hearts in particular hoping for a vast improvement on their seventh place finish in 2024/25.

The 54-year-old boss was mightily impressed with his players in Saturday’s win over the Black Cats, but admits their impressive early form is making it difficult for him to pick his starting XI. Regardless of who does start though, McInnes is confident they can get the desired result.

“I think when everybody puts their best foot forward, and there's a lot of people putting their hands up to play, that's great for a manager,” said McInnes. “Obviously, I can only pick XI. I think I could pick so many different XIs, and I'd feel confident we could compete and get results.

“So I've got an idea about how I want to play and some of the players within that, but we've still got nine days or so. Training's important. We've got a bounce game on Wednesday, a closed-door game, to try and top up the minutes for others.”

One player who looks almost certain to start the game is Australian midfielder Cammy Devlin, who was lavished with praise by the ex-Kilmarnock boss. “I'm absolutely delighted with him,” beamed McInnes. “He's been first class. Even from our first conversation with Cammy, when we were on holiday. I've always been an admirer from a distance.

“Now that I'm his manager, I'm really enjoying working with him. I think he gives you a bit of everything. I just want him to be at midfield. He doesn't need to overthink his game too much. The game will come naturally to Cammy if he keeps getting about his work. He's been different class.”

New signing Oisin McEntee also looks to have played himself into McInnes’ thinking after a monstrous display in the weekend win in Gorgie. The versatile Irishman claimed his preferred position is in midfield, and the Hearts boss has hinted that fans may see him in that role more often than not this season.

“He's a ball winner and keeps it simple,” he said. “His progressive plays up and down the pitch. You've seen everything, why we wanted Oisin in the team. We were a wee bit light in there [due to injuries]. Sometimes in the pre-season games, we've tried them one or two different positions. In pre-season, you don't always get a chance to go and snap into tackles and chance to turn the ball over and show that aggression. There's seven, eight, nine opponents in our league that I can see Oisin really as effective as he was against Sunderland.”

Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here.