Derek McInnes is the man Hearts want to be their new head coach

Alan Forrest is clear on the type of manager he wants Hearts to recruit. An attack-minded coach who favours wingers would suit the 28-year-old, and if he happens to employ a 4-3-3 formation then so much the better. It is exactly the type of approach Liam Fox took last week as the Edinburgh club’s interim head coach, resulting in a 3-1 win at Ross County with Forrest on the scoresheet.

Derek McInnes is the man Hearts want to permanently replace Neil Critchley, who was sacked last month. That pursuit could gather pace in the coming days. Fox is temporarily steering the good ship Tynecastle and will remain in charge for Saturday’s Premiership match with Motherwell. A win will guarantee that the hosts cannot be dragged down into the relegation battle before the campaign ends.

Thereafter, moves to appoint a new head coach will accelerate and Forrest knows what he wants from the next incumbent at Riccarton. “I think just a positive style,” he explained. “I really enjoyed Saturday with the formation, 4-3-3. We played with two wingers and a striker and it just felt positive. I think a manager that played that kind of style would suit.

“It's a fresh start for everyone. Everyone's in the same boat and everyone's got a point to prove as well. We've fallen short of where we wanted to be this season. Everyone will have a point to prove for whoever the manager that comes in. I'm sure everyone will be trying to impress in pre-season and take it from there and achieve what we want to achieve for next season.

“The message was quite clear [at Ross County]. It was just for myself and Kenny [Vargas] to stay high and stay wide. Just to be positive. Foxy did say to me before the game to be as positive as I can. If you give it away, just make sure you get back and you do it again and you be positive and you take the game to the opposition. I think that was good, personally. I think you could see on Saturday that the team played well and we got a result at a difficult place.”

UEFA heartache in Europe and Hearts fans rounding on players

Forrest fell out of Hearts’ starting line-up under Critchley and suffered some stinging criticism from supporters for some underwhelming displays earlier in the season. He recalled the final UEFA Conference League group match against Petrocub, when a 2-2 draw sent the Edinburgh club out of the competition by one goal, as a particular low point.

“I think that was a difficult night for everyone,” he said. “We fell short that night and we'd got off to such a great start in that tournament as well. For the way it ended, it wasn't great for anyone. Everyone was hurting from it and I was no different. I think they [fans] were getting restless. It's just one where you can't control that. I think everyone's out there trying their best and that night, it was just a difficult night for us. We couldn't get over the line and it was difficult.”

Forrest believes a seige mentality can help the Hearts players if they unite under such pressure. “Yes, I think so. I think when stuff like that happens, all the boys are in the same boat. We need to stick together. As I said, it's outside noise that we can't control, so I think it's important that we do stick together. We need to encourage players and we need to get behind each other. I think we all do that anyway, so I think that's important.”

On occasion, he has spoke to brother James at Celtic about dealing with a lack of game time. “Yes, I think it's just one where it's happened throughout our careers and it's not always up all the time,” explained the younger Forrest. “I think during that period, as I said before, if you're not playing, it's just about keeping yourself right. Make sure you're still doing the right things off the park and to be ready for when you do get the opportunity. If you aren't playing, I think that's important. With all the games that you have, I think if the team changes, you need to be ready for that moment.”