Derek McInnes: How my Hearts team will set up, the attributes I’ll demand and what I won’t accept

Derek McInnes: How my Hearts team will set up, the attributes I’ll demand and what I won’t accept

Derek McInnes: How my Hearts team will set up, the attributes I'll demand and what I won't accept

The Tynecastle manager will profit from the transfer window as he prepares for the Premier League season 2025/26. Derek McInnes expresses very definite opinions on how Hearts will play under his guidance. The majority of his words will please Tynecastle Park supporters. There will be speed, width, aggression, physicality, a competitive edge, and goals. McInnes, who was hired head coach on a four-year contract on Monday, established his own style of play while coaching St Johnstone, Bristol City, Aberdeen, and Kilmarnock over an 18-year period. It helped him attract interest from Sunderland, Rangers, and the Scottish national team at various periods. He is now tasked with revitalizing Hearts, alongside his coaching staff of Paul Sheerin and Alan Archibald.

When asked how he plans to construct his Tynecastle team, the 53-year-old clarifies his intentions. “I’ve always preferred to play with wingers. “All of my teams have had speedy and wide players,” he continues. “I believe that having good wide players is even more vital at Tynecastle due to the pitch’s compactness.” “Players who can isolate and move quickly.” Obviously, Lawrence Shankland is someone I’d like to keep if we could, because strikers who score 20 or more goals per season are hard to come by, especially when they are Scottish. I believe that establishing a sense of service in him will be crucial.Lawrence is a boy I know well, and he can manipulate an opportunity for himself. He has got talent, but he’s a boy who thrives on service.

“I believe that having pace, physicality, energy, and aggression is quite vital for a Hearts squad. Playing in Scottish football requires you to be extremely pragmatic. Throughout the seasons, with the harshness of winters and everything else, you can’t always be amazing, but you have to remain competitive. At times, I merely need to ensure that my Hearts team is competitive in every game.

“I believe that at Tynecastle, it is important to have pace, good ball-handlers, midfielders, technical skill, and, preferably, goal scorers. My best teams have always featured good physicality, goal scorers who average around 20 goals per season, and good wide players.

That is not going to change, and I believe it is critical that we strive to identify those players, if they are not already here.

“At Aberdeen, I inherited two exceptionally good wingers, McGinn and Hayes. But even after Jonny and Niall went, we attempted to keep doing it. At Kilmarnock, I attempted to stick to two wingers and two forwards. Basically, we committed to two strikers since we couldn’t recruit a striker who scored 20 or more goals per season. We didn’t have the resources to achieve it. So we agreed, or I chose, to work with two, and you might be able to achieve your twenty-odd goals with just two.

“So we committed, plain and simple, to having two strikers. And the majority of the time, two wingers on the pitch. I like wingers, I like pace, I like people who can unlock teams. I think nine teams out of the league would probably come here to Tynecastle and maybe sit in and say: ‘Go on, break us down.’ For that, I think you need all the answers. I think wide players with pace and creativity are vital to that.”

New Hearts signings and transfer targets—but McInnes has a clear message.

Tynecastle’s transfer business is thriving, with Norwegian right-back Christian Borchgrevink and Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis already signed for next season. Belgian striker Elton Kabangu’s loan from Union Saint-Gilloise has also been converted into a permanent contract. Several others will follow, but McInnes will not be taken away by the flow of new members. He will set the highest standards for everyone.

“I don’t want to come in here and shout from the hip: ‘We’re going to do this and we’re going to do that.’ I just think we’ve got to work confidently, quietly, under the radar,” he stresses. “We don’t need to drum things up, the fans are there. They’re just waiting for it. They’re just waiting for something to happen, really. We just need to get their trust and I need to earn that trust. The players need to earn that. They need to know that when they turn that every week, they’ve got a team who are going to compete.
“We aim to be outstanding every week. The Scottish League does not always allow this. When working with players, you must realise that as a manager, you are aware that your players will not be at their best every weekend. They can be committed, driven, and motivated. That’s the only way I can work with players like that. I will not tolerate poor practice. I will not allow idle days. Fans need to know when they have a squad that accurately reflects them. I intend to give them that team.

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