OPINION

How Derek McInnes is winning the full trust of the Hearts fans.

When Heart of Midlothian appoints a new manager, unanimity is rarely reached. The phenomenon is not unique to the club, but worry among supporters increased during the most recent hunt.

Last season’s dismal start and finish (aside from Liam Fox’s second interim stay) meant Hearts were looking for their third head coach in a year, and fourth in five years.

When Derek McInnes was hired, there were plenty of sceptics. Whether it was expectations about his playing style or concerns about limiting the search to managers with Scottish football experience, it was not universally welcomed.

Despite this concern, the Hearts fans’ support has been unparalleled this season, with the enormous turnout at Livingston being a particular highlight.

Their joy grows with each game as the team improves on the field, and the number of McInnes detractors decreases. His official title is head coach, but the words “proper manager” are being uttered around Gorgie more frequently.

From the macro of his well-thought-out game plan at Ibrox to the micro of wanting to shoot “down the slope” in the second half at Tannadice, it appears to be the perfect fit thus far.

Pre-season preparations included a lot of hard work and camaraderie. Hearts dominated the Premier Sports Cup group stage and carried that momentum into the Scottish Premiership season.

Against better opposition, some areas for improvement became obvious, but it was never going to be an overnight success. And, while McInnes was pleased with his team’s attacking statistics up to that point, he wanted to improve their defensive performance. After the 2-0 win at Ibrox, the team’s first clean sheet since the league season began, he stated: “Our attacking stats are over the roof.

This season, we’ve got the most Premier League goals, shots on target, big chances, and contacts in the opponent box.

The second-highest number of crosses. “But there are instances when that comes at a cost. Sometimes you can lose cheap goals. And, eventually, we cannot continue to rely on outscoring teams and the rest of it. So the clean sheet was critical.”

They took that steadiness into Saturday’s emphatic performance over Falkirk, putting Hearts two points clear at the top of the league at this early stage.

McInnes has kept this unbeaten streak going while sifting through a large roster and integrating a starting lineup’s worth of new players, many of whom had never played Scottish football before.

Heavy rotation in the League Cup group stage, particularly the starting lineup against Dumbarton, ensured that as many players as possible were prepared for the start of the league season.

The final third of Saturday’s victory, as well as frequent closed-door friendlies, were also used wisely to give marginal players crucial minutes.

The only blemish has been the cup defeat to St Mirren. Even yet, despite one of the season’s weaker efforts, the club did not lose in 90 (or 120) minutes.

McInnes argued after the game that he had started one or two too many fresh players. Since then, he has discovered a greater balance, a flawless balance in the previous two matches.

When bringing in so many new players from across the continent, there will be teething problems, such as the first 45 minutes in Paisley.

In retrospect, and given subsequent results, the Hearts manager deserves credit for it being about the only occasion it has come at the loss of a result; the only other example being the 3-3 draw at home to Motherwell.

The group has been reduced to a more manageable size, but McInnes still faces the challenge of keeping his peripheral players interested. So far, he has done an excellent job with that side, using different players at various phases.

Along with a core of leaders with a deep understanding of the Scottish game in Craig Halkett, Stuart Findlay, Cammy Devlin, and Lawrence Shankland, a few names are now first on the team sheet.

Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis are vying for the fan favourite, and Oisin McEntee now seems like he’s been here for years, as does Harry Milne, who, let’s not forget, had barely played at all before this season and hadn’t featured in the top division until now.

Meanwhile, Tomas Magnusson and Sabah Kerjota have been used sparingly, and the aim is to gradually introduce them, along with a few others, as the fixture pile-up nears the conclusion of the year.

Talk of a title challenge is far too early, but it is evident that the club is on the right track with a man in charge who has rapidly earned the trust of the Hearts fan base.

And now we have enough credit in the bank to deal with the inevitable setbacks. However, given how some fans have reacted to previous Edinburgh derby defeats, he could definitely do without any bumps in the road this weekend.

If the first few games of the season are any indication, McInnes will have a strategy in place for Saturday evening and will make it obvious to everyone of his players what this game entailed.

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