Hearts 'most important cog' in title race named as next Celtic manager question floors pundit
The ex Liverpool and West Ham star thinks one man has been instrumental to Hearts’ success this season
Former Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison believes Derek McInnes has been the ‘most important cog’ in Hearts’ wheel this season - and was left flabbergasted when asked if he thinks the Jambos boss could be off to Celtic in the summer.
In what is his first year in the Tynecastle dugout, McInnes is three games away from making history as Hearts sit three points ahead of second place Celtic in the title race. Pundit Hutchison, who won the 1992 FA Cup with Liverpool, thinks because of McInnes’ exploits that other clubs may try to take him off Hearts’ hands in the summer.
After Hearts defeated Rangers 2-1 at Tynecastle on Monday, Celtic have become their main rivals at the top of the table. McInnes will take his side to Celtic Park on May 16 for the final game of the season, in a fixture that could decide who lifts the Premiership trophy. Hoops boss Martin O’Neill is set to leave the club in the summer and his successor is still to be confirmed, however Ferencvaros manager Robbie Keane and Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou have both been strongly linked.
Hutchison floored by McInnes question
Speaking to BestBettingSites, Hutchison was asked whether he thinks if Celtic will go after McInnes in the summer given his success at Hearts. The Hearts boss spent five years at Ibrox during his playing career, leaving Hutchison slightly taken aback by the prospect. He responded: “That's a hell of a question. I would say, from my point of view, it wouldn't be a problem. But hardcore Celtic fans are too green-and-white to potentially take someone from Rangers.
“Now, that might have changed over the years; that might have softened slightly. I don't know, because I'm not in Glasgow—I've not got eyes and ears on the ground for how much it really matters anymore. They might have the intelligence to think, ‘Well, you know what? We're going to get a cracking manager and we're going to get a manager that's won the league, so why wouldn't we take him?’
“So yeah, it's a fascinating question which I'm not sure actually what the answer is. The most important cog in their wheel is keeping hold of Derek McInnes—if he wins the league—because you can imagine Rangers and Celtic might be sniffing all over him. More so Rangers; he was an ex-Rangers player, so that's the link.”
Former Scotland international fancies Hearts to go all the way after Rangers triumph
Hearts defender Stephen Kingsley and captain Lawrence Shankland overturned Dujon Sterling’s opener to give them a memorable victory at Tynecastle against the Light Blues. With the visitors’ title hopes now in tatters, Hutchison reckons Hearts will now go all the way in the ‘two horse race’. He continued: “Hearts beat Rangers on Monday. I watched the game.
“I was hoping Rangers would win to make it a proper three-horse race, but I'm leaning toward Hearts. I think they've got momentum, and I think they've got a goalscorer in Shankland. We've talked about him; he is a must for Scotland's World Cup in the summer. Steve Clarke was at the game and his finish was excellent.
“It’s probably turned into a two-horse race now. There's a big game for Rangers coming up where they play Celtic at Celtic Park, which is massive. That’s going to be huge to try and get Rangers back into a title race and make them contenders again. But I think the gap that Hearts have got on Rangers might be too much. So I think it's a straight shootout now—a straight duel between Hearts and Celtic for the league. I'd like to see Hearts win it.”
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