'I'm hearing' - Derek McInnes issues Hearts next manager update as timeline for Kilmarnock approach emerges

The Kilmarnock boss has emerged as the frontrunner for the Tynecastle post after the Hearts hierarchy prioritised appointing someone with a strong background in Scottish football.

The 53-year-old led Killie to Scottish Premiership safety on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Dundee at Rugby Park securing top flight status with two matches to spare following a difficult campaign.

McInnes has been in charge of the Ayrshire club since January 2022, guiding them to the Championship title in his first season before securing European football after finishing fourth last term.

He previously spent seven years at Aberdeen, where he finished no lower than fourth and won the League Cup in 2014, while he has also managed Bristol City and St Johnstone.

McIness appeared as a pundit on Sky Sports for their coverage of Rangers v Aberdeen at Ibrox on Sunday, where he was asked about the Hearts vacancy and indicated he is aware of an impending approach from the Edinburgh club.

"I'm hearing there may be contact between the clubs, but there's been nothing official yet from my point of view," he said. "Obviously, it has been a busy week and we've just tried to make sure we put Kilmarnock first and foremost. It was a brilliant result for us yesterday.

"In everything, whether you are a player or manager, if compensation is agreed and clubs can reach agreement then it's over to a player or manager, but I need to stress, we're not at that stage.

"I've got a good relationship with the club. We had work to do to make sure we secured Premiership status and thankfully the boys have been good enough to do that. We've just been concentrating on that, and that's all I can say at the minute."

McInnes ‘deserves another crack at big club’

Hearts will need to agree a compensation fee with Kilmarnock in order to land McInnes, who is under contract until 2027.

Former Rangers and Scotland striker Kris Boyd, appearing alongside McInnes in the Sky Sports studio, backed his fellow pundit for the Hearts hotseat.

"You look at what he did at Aberdeen, and they were a club who were struggling at the time as well," he said. "Hearts have had a disappoitning season and it's no disrespect to Kilmarnock, because I've got a great association with them and they were a fantastic club for me, but you get to the stage where Derek is now ready to go back to a big club.

"When you look at Hibs, Aberdeen, Hearts - for me Hearts are the third biggest in the country - you want them up there challenging and causing problems to Rangers and Celtic and asking questions of them. The job Derek did at Aberdeen deserves to be back at that level. I'm not saying it's a given right, you've still got to go and do the hard work, but people forget, and it's easy because of what Derek's achieved in the past, what he's done at Kilmarnock is unbelievable as well, considering where they were in the Championship, to then come up, stay up, then kick on and get to Europe.

"It's been a difficult season for Kilmarnock with a lot of injuries and the European competition to deal with as well. They didn't get off to a great start but to be able to finish the season strong, for me, I think he deserves another crack at a big club to see if he can cause problems to our big two."