Hearts hero shares his next Tynecastle manager assumption as lack of 'main candidate' leaves him puzzled

A Hearts favourite has been left wondering why a main candidate for the vacant managerial role at Tynecastle hasn’t been made clear.

Andrew McKinlay has addressed the position ahead of Thursday’s Europa Conference League opener against Dinamo Minsk, following Steven Naismith’s sacking as head coach last month. Liam Fox is taking interim charge of the club in Azerbaijan before an away trip to Aberdeen less than 72 hours later.

The CEO says the club have a long shortlist down to seven or eight candidates. Speaking before that admission, ex-Hearts defender Ryan McGowan has been left wondering why his former club didn’t have a main contender for the job from the outset after Naismith’s sacking.

With Aberdeen 16 points ahead of them in third, he wonders whether or not that position they clinched last campaign is already out of reach. McGowan told PLZ: “I think probably the biggest worry for Hearts fans is there hasn’t been anyone linked. I have not see one person that has been linked with the Hearts job.

“I think that is the biggest worry. It feels like they have completely dropped the ball on this season in terms of one, the run they are on just now and two, having that Plan B. If you are going to get rid of Steven Naismith, you would think that they would have had a main candidate they want to go after.

“They don’t seem to have that and the longer it drags on, you’ve been in changing rooms before where the result doesn’t come and it snowballs. I think third is almost completely gone.”

In Saturday’s 1-1 Premiership draw with Ross County, zero of the club’s summer signings started the game. That leaves McGowan - who won the Scottish Cup with the club in 2012 - asking more questions about summer recruitment.

He added: “That was a big indication, the starting XI had none of the nine new signings in the summer. That shows you, completely on the outside, that the recruitment in the summer is not good enough.

“As much as we think they are good players they brought in, Liam Fox and Lee Wallace who have been there throughout that albeit behind the scenes, they obviously don’t think those players are good enough to get into a team that is bottom of the league. That is where questions need to be asked of who brought the players in.”