If Hearts want to challenge Celtic and the Ibrox club, Derek McInnes is certainly not the answer

Last Friday, I wrote an article on Tony Bloom and his offer of £10 million to Hearts. This would land him a 29% stake in the club, thus making him the majority shareholder at Tynecastle. Bearing that in mind, and if the Hearts fans decide to vote in favour of this, you would have to ask the question, what would Tony Bloom think of the appointment of Derek McInnes as the club’s new manager?

If Hearts want to mount a serious challenge on the top two clubs, then a manager who has just about managed to avoid a relegation battle isn’t the answer.

McInnes isn’t exactly a serial winner.

Yes, he’s an experienced SPFL manager, and he’s been around for a good while now.

But in a management career that has spanned almost 17 years, he has managed to land just one major trophy in that timespan.

Not exactly the guy you want to outsmart the likes of Brendan Rodgers.

Or whoever ends up in the hot seat at Ibrox.

Which is starting to look like an Ancelotti, but not the one you’re thinking of.

In my article on Friday, I went into detail on what Hearts could become with the influence of Tony Bloom.

If that era was to start with McInnes in the manager’s hot seat, then I’m afraid that Hearts will not be in any position to mount a serious challenge on the top two.

No doubt, McInnes would be capable of consolidating third position.

But would that be the extent of the “uncapped potential” Tony Bloom sees in the Edinburgh club?

McInnes’ true potential is there for all to see.

And it doesn’t stretch to anything beyond a second place finish, at best.

Keith Jackson was waxing lyrical in the Record yesterday about what McInnes would bring to Hearts:

McInnes wants the job too. Be in no doubt whatsoever about that.

He’s had an eye on the Tynecastle hotseat for some considerable time as well as the solid, unshakable belief that he would be capable of establishing the club as a genuine force to be reckoned with in the Scottish game.

McInnes’ track record suggests different, I would say.

During a time when the Ibrox club were absent from the top flight, and Celtic were probably at their weakest, McInnes failed to mount a serious challenge on us.

He had an opportunity at that time of making Aberdeen a genuine force to be reckoned with in the Scottish game, and he didn’t take it.

I firmly believe that if Aberdeen had a more astute and experienced manager in charge at that time, they could have pushed Celtic all the way.

Keith Jackson, however, believes that the Kilmarnock manager’s credentials are “impeccable”:

Having done precisely this at Aberdeen over the course of his eight year reign at Pittodrie, his credentials are as close to being as impeccable and iron cast as they come.

It’s the ultimate in no brainer appointments. Which is exactly why McInnes may have reason to pause and to think twice if and when his phone does finally ring and he hears the voice of Ann Budge or Andrew McKinlay on the other end of the line.

I’d suggest they’d be impeccable if there was a title win thrown into that eight year reign at Pittodrie.

But there isn’t.

The only title McInnes has is a Scottish Championship title.

If Hearts are in any way serious about becoming a force in Scottish football, then surely they should be looking at stronger candidates than McInnes?

I’m pretty sure Tony Bloom would be.

McInnes has outsmarted Brendan Rodgers on a few occasions, but their head to head record leans heavily in favour of Rodgers.

I doubt that would change much if he was in charge of Hearts.

On the podcast last night, we discussed this in depth.

The latest episode was titled Third Prize Is, “You’re Fired!”.

YouTube: Third Prize Is “You’re fired!”

James believed that any manager who takes a club outside the top two should be told that if he manages to only finish third, he’ll be fired.

Because third place is just a comfort zone for managers outside the top two.

I said that if Hearts gave the job to McInnes, then that is the most that they can expect.

He isn’t going to get Hearts any higher than that.

We were also of the belief that this isn’t the kind of appointment that Tony Bloom would want.

The problem is that it could be done and dusted before the fans vote to make him the majority shareholder.

Then Hearts and Tony Bloom are stuck with McInnes.

McInnes is an old school manager, and the reason Bloom may be wary of his appointment is because he is unlikely to be compatible with Starlizard, Bloom’s analytics system.

Neil Critchley struggled with it, so the chances are that McInnes is unlikely to adapt to it either.

I guess we’ll find out in the coming days if McInnes will get the job or not.

As a Celtic fan, I won’t be losing too much sleep over the appointment.

He certainly won’t be posing any threat to Brendan Rodgers or Celtic.

40 years and counting now since anyone did.

Surely it won’t be another 40 before anyone does?