Hearts fans to question Derek McInnes over his plans

New Hearts head coach Derek McInnes is to be questioned by supporters ahead of his first competitive match in charge next month. The Edinburgh club’s owners, Foundation of Hearts, are hosting their latest ‘90 Minutes’ event on Monday, 7 July, and McInnes is the guest of honour.

The 53-year-old left Kilmarnock for Tynecastle Park last month and is now preparing his new squad for the 2025/26 season. For Hearts, competitive football resumes on 12 July when they open their Premier Sports Cup campaign against Dunfermline. McInnes will sit in front of Foundation of Hearts members five days beforehand for a 90-minute question and answer session inside Tynecastle’s Gorgie Suite.

Subjects to be discussed will include new signings, aims for the new season, tactical plans and future football-related matters. Hearts have completed six signings so far this summer - Norwegian right-back Christian Borchgrevink, Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis, Belgian striker Elton Kabangu, Irish midfielder Oisin McEntee, Portuguese striker Claudio Braga and centre-back Stuart Findlay.

The Foundation posted details of the event with McInnes on their website. “Hosted by Hearts TV’s Rob Borthwick, the event will give fans an insight into the coaching team’s plans heading into the new season,” they said. “Expect open and honest discussion, tactical talk, and a rare opportunity to hear directly from the man shaping the future of the club. The evening will conclude with an interactive Q&A, giving members the chance to put their own questions to Derek. Tickets are limited and available exclusively to FoH members. These will be available on Tuesday 24 June by clicking here.”

McInnes is currently working to sign another right-sided attacking player to strengthen the Hearts forward line. An offer to the Nigerian Uchenna Ogundu was made but he had interest from several clubs in Europe and is now close to joining Alanyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig.

Hearts transfer plans ahead of season 2025/26

“We're just trying to identify maybe different types and players that we feel makes us more competitive and a bit more rounded,” explained McInnes in an interview with Sky Sports. “We'd still like to try and bring a bit more width to the team particularly off that right hand side and that's been my focus but these things are constant.

“We're still trying to bring a couple in and the squad is quite loaded with players at the minute but I've also got to say I think we've got a lot of good players here, I think I've been blessed and fortunate to inherit the squad that we've got. Let's just try to get a wee bit more out of them.

“Obviously players are always looking for game time. We've all been there and we want to make sure you're part of the manager's plans. Not everybody can play the minutes they want to play. But certainly looking forward to getting started with the lads and seeing where we're at over the next few weeks. There will be no hasty decisions made in the next week or two but certainly there's a lot of tough decisions that are going to have to be made just to free up some space.”

READ MORE: Hearts transfer work continues - Ogundu, Chesnokov, Shankland