Former Preston North End and Norwich City boss among favourites for Hearts manager job
A managerial vacancy has opened up in Scotland and a former Preston North End manager is the leading candidate.
Former Preston North End manager Alex Neil has emerged as the front-runner to replace Steven Naismith at Hearts.
The Edinburgh club parted company with the former Everton and Norwich City forward on Sunday, following a poor start to their campaign. Hearts suffered a run of eight successive defeats and Naismith, along with former Lilywhites boss Frankie McAvoy, has departed Tynecastle.
McAvoy replaced Neil when he was relieved of his duties at PNE in March 2021, initially on an interim basis, before landing the permanent gig. Three years on, it could be the other way round, should Neil fill the hot seat at Hearts. Scottish bookmaker McBookie has placed Neil as the 3/1 favourite for the job.
The 43-year-old has been out of work since being dismissed as Stoke City manager, in December 2023. He spent 16 months in charge of the Potters and guided them to a 16th-placed finish, before being replaced by Steven Schumacher - who was sacked last week.
In an exclusive interview with the Evening Post, back in May, Neil admitted that he wanted to recreate what he had during his time at Deepdale - in his next job. Under his stewardship, PNE finished just outside the play-offs in 2017/18 - two points behind Derby County. A ninth placed finish was secured in the 2019/20 season, but the following year saw Neil’s tenure come to an end.
He said: "I want to get... to be honest, I’d like to try and recreate what I had at Preston for those years - in terms of having a squad I really enjoy, having players that are hungry, want to make their way and want to achieve. You don’t come across it very often, but I was fortunate I managed to walk into the right changing room at the right time. I’d like to try and do that again.”
Neil’s managerial career began with Hamilton Academical in April 2013, and he managed them for just under two years. Norwich City appointed him in January 2015 and he guided the Canaries to promotion from the Championship that season, via the play-offs.