Next Hearts manager set two immediate Tynecastle tasks as chiefs urged to make appointment 'fairly quickly'

Michael Stewart has urged Hearts to make a swift managerial appointment in order to try and halt a poor run of form.

Interim manager Liam Fox guided the team to a 1-1 draw with Ross County on Saturday in the Premiership that bucked a trend of eight straight defeats. They left it late though as Lawrence Shankland netted in stoppage-time to salvage a point ahead of Thursday’s Europa Conference League opener vs Dinamo Minsk.

They are still without a permanent manager after Steven Naismith’s sacking as head coach. Former Hearts midfielder Stewart cast his eye over the draw with County and noted while it did end a losing run, it only happened by fine margins.

He has urged Hearts chiefs to get a new leader in quickly, with the new boss told to adjustments will need made in January to the squad alongside the requirement to drive the club forward in two early tasks. Stewart told Premier Sports: “Has the rot stopped? Well, they have stopped the run of defeats with a point. They need to get somebody in fairly quickly.

“There is a European game on Thursday night which is massive for the club. When you look at the set of fixtures that Hearts have got, there are games there that are very winnable for this squad if they are settled with some confidence and belief. But they are a million miles away from that at the moment.

“You just worry that when things carry on for too long, it becomes more difficult to reverse it. Stopped the rot? Barely. The need for a manager is desperate and the need to adjust the squad slightly in January is there.

“On the football side of things, they really need to get a focal point and a head of the club, a manager, to come in and drive things forward. With a little bit of an adjustment, they are not a million miles away from being fine.”