Former Hearts boss emerges as next manager contender at Premiership rival as Derek McInnes comparison made
A former Hearts player and manager is said to be keen to take charge of Premiership rivals Motherwell.
Robbie Neilson has reportedly declared his interest in taking charge at Motherwell after the former Hearts manager was described as a potential ‘safe as houses’ appointment for the Fir Park club.
BBC Sport have reported the former Hearts boss is keen to return to the dugout with the Steelmen and have claimed Neilson’s CV has been submitted to club chairman Kyrk Macmillan. The 44-year-old has been out of work since leaving USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies in April 2025 but has spoken of his desire to get back into management ahead of the new season.
Motherwell have been without a manager since Michael Wimmer left his position with the Steelmen last month after citing ‘family reasons’ as the reason for his decision and has now returned to Germany to take charge of third tier club Jahn Regensburg. The BBC report says a three-man sub-committee of Motherwell’s executive board ‘draw up a shortlist, conduct interviews and make their managerial recommendation’. Chairman Kyrk Macmillan, chief executive Brian Caldwell and digital marketing chief executive Greg Anderson will play integral roles in appointing a successor to Wimmer as they look to improve on last season’s eighth place finish.
“They might not be too concerned”
Former Falkirk and Dundee striker Rory Loy has told discussed the possibility of Neilson taking charge at Hearts in the near future and believes the appointment would mirror Hearts’ decision to appointed Derek McInnes as their new manager. Loy described the situation following Wimmer’s departure as ‘quite rare’ and insisted the Steelmen won’t be concerned shunning a ‘safe as houses’ appointment and ‘going a bit more leftfield again’ after they appointed ex Austria Wien manager Wimmer earlier this year.
"You look at Hearts, appointing Derek McInnes is probably as safe as houses in terms of the risk involved," Loy told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.
"I think Neilson is pretty similar for Motherwell. I don't like the cliches of 'he knows the league' and 'he knows the players', but it is relevant to an extent. And one thing he has had is success. Whether Hearts fans enjoyed how he played or his personality or how he came across, he had a level of success where they were consistently finishing in good positions in the league. The difference is, and it's quite rare, Wimmer wasn't actually sacked. Motherwell maybe like what they did and could see where it was going, so they might not be too concerned about going a bit more leftfield again."