Hearts CEO Andrew McKinlay answers key questions on January transfer window following AGM
The chief executive spoke to the press following the conclusion of the 118th Heart of Midlothian Annual General Meeting.
Following the conclusion of the 118th Heart of Midlothian AGM, chief executive Andrew McKinaly took questions from the press covering an array of topics from the club’s current form, to the January transfer window and on working with Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics.
The meeting, which took place at Tynecastle, saw shareholders presented with a breakdown of the 23/24 season including the club’s financial situation. After all official business was ratified there was time for questions from the floor to the board of directors where McKinlay was quizzed on transfer business and much more.
After the meeting, McKinaly elaborated on most of these topics including the club’s plans for the January window and how they will assist head coach Neil Critchley in brining in reinforcements for the first team. He said: “Let's start with the cliche, January is never an easy time to do business.
“Good players are not generally available in January, etc. We've already approved as a board, the finances are available to look at. There's a particular striker we're looking at, but not just one, often you don't get your first choice. We're looking at a few, all of who have come from Jamestown. Other positions and other things that we do, I think, might depend on what might go out.
“I think we're all aware that the priority would be a striker. I think we forget as well, hopefully we'll see him soon, we've got Calem Nieuwenhof coming back, he'll help in the midfield. I'm a little bit concerned after Sunday about some of our defensive injury. It wouldn't be the first time we've come to January. What was it, two seasons ago? That disastrous day up at Tarradice where we lost Craig and the other Craig. You just never know what's going to come. The striker's the priority and the rest will probably be. January tends to become a bit of an ebb and flow.
Asked directly if bringing someone in involves spending money, McKinlay answered: “It depends on markets and it depends on where you're bringing them. Different countries have different seasons and some people's contracts might be out.
“Yes, if we were restricting ourselves to Scotland or England and we tried to take someone out of contract in January, I wouldn't expect it to be very easy at all. You've got to live within your means. We know what our budget is, we know what we'll go to. That's where Jamestown can help you. It can help you identify ones that others haven't identified at levels that are realistic for us.”
Lawrence Shankland’s name cropped up more than once at the AGM, as you might expect, and McKinlay confirmed he believes the club captain will run down his contract and leave at the end of the season. As to a possible January exit for the striker, he said: “As we sit here, I will say again, we've not had any offers, we've not had any approaches, nothing, either from a third party or from his representatives. You can probably tell I'm bored of this subject but you're going to ask me about it, it's not changed.”
Hearts have agreed a deal to work with Jamestown Analytics and it was well documented the part they played in brining in head coach Neil Critchley. While a deal for Tony Bloom to become a minority shareholder in the club is still be negotiated, McKinlay spoke about the ‘game changing’ impact they could have on Hearts in the future.
He said: “Game changing in that context to me is a genuine opportunity to compete with the teams above us in Scotland. I think as I said in the AGM, I've been very reluctant to say that up until some of my colleagues have said it and I was criticised when I first came into the club by saying I want to get back to being the third team in Scotland and that I was criticised for showing a lack of ambition.
“The reason I had that view was maybe it was my background, my head led my heart and I just felt the financial disparity is just almost impossible in the same way as you look at Celtic and the Champions League. We've all got our levels in the game and it tends to follow finances. But then you look, so what else can we do? What can we do to challenge those top two teams? And when you look around, there's various examples in Europe, not just Jamestown but others, but Jamestown are probably the real gold standard of this example and they've shown that by what they've done at other clubs and Union is probably the best one for people to go away and look at when they took over.
“Not only were they not in one of the top teams in Belgium, they were in the second tier and by season three or four they were challenging for the title. and if it wasn't for the quite weird Belgian system, which I'm sure some of you know about where you half your points, we think we're crazy in Scotland, so where you half your points after the split, Union would have won the league.
“So that's the game, I genuinely, and I think I said earlier on, finishing second, I want to do that on the basis that we've been good, not on the basis that maybe one of the other teams above us have been bad. And then genuinely, and that's not going to happen overnight, but genuinely I think with the use of their technology, using our finances wisely, being as smart as we can be, I genuinely think we could challenge in Scotland.”
Finally, McKinlay also paid tribute to outgoing Financial Director Jacqui Duncan who is retiring from the board at the end of the current season after ten years working with the club.
“Just this week myself and Jackie with me are doing interviews for her replacement,” said McKinlay. “Many people in those sorts of jobs will have six month notice periods. so we are speaking to some high calibre people but it's about Jackie at the moment and she came in at a time when the club had not long come out of administration.
“You look at some of the graphs today that she put up to show where the club was and where the club is now. I think too many of us in all walks of life we are always in the here and now, we are not, we don't maybe sometimes sit back and reflect on what we have achieved and I think in a quieter moment hopefully Jackie will look back at what the club has achieved and she has been a huge part of that in that ten years and as I said earlier will be a hard act to replace. She is looking forward to spending more time on the tennis court so I can't begrudge her that.”