'Ranking managers' – Hearts chief breaks silence on Tony Bloom data deal amid new manager update

Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay has shed some light on the proposed deal with Brighton chairman and owner Tony Bloom as they continue their search for a new manager.

Hearts are bottom of the Premiership and searching for a new manager after sacking Steven Naismith on Sunday following a run of eight defeats in all competitions.

It emerged last week the Edinburgh club are in talks with the 54-year-old Englishman over a potential £10million investment deal that would involve the Jambos being able to use his data and analytics-based Starlizard software, which has been crucial to the Seagulls establishing one of the best player trading models in British football.

It has been suggested that Bloom could look to become a minority shareholder in Hearts further down the line.

Indeed, there is every chance that Starlizard may be involved in the identification of their next manager. While the likes of Derek McInnes, Alex Neil and Stephen Robinson are among the early bookmakers’ favourites, the arrival of Bloom on the scene heightens the possibility of an exciting left-field appointment.

Whoever takes the reins will feel they have a chance of making an impact in Europe, with the Jambos due to face Dinamo Minsk, Omonia Nicosia, Heidenheim, Cercle Brugge, Copenhagen and Petrocub in a Conference League campaign.

Brighton and Bloom have declined to comment on the potential deal at this stage but McKinlay, speaking to Barry Anderson from the Edinburgh News, said: “Where we are now is that we’ve had our own lists and we’re also working with an analytics company. There has been a lot of press reporting recently but for commercial confidentiality reasons I can’t go into too much detail, but we are working with an analytics company.

“Now, what does that mean? Does it just mean that they will tell us who we should have as the manager? No, it doesn’t mean that. What it means is that they will be part of the process and they will have some views on some individuals and we will also feed them any individuals we think might be right and any applications we might have, and we’ve had a significant amount in the last 48 hours. In fact, we’ve had a significant amount in the weeks previous to that, such is the nature of football.

"They’ll all be fed into that analytics and that will give us an idea of a ranking of managers. But that ranking is just based on analytics, you then have to take that and look at those individuals; are they within our ability to get them, are they in current roles or not, there are various factors – will they fit into our culture, what style of football will they play, you can go on and on, and the analytics won’t give you all those answers.

"You have to do a lot of your own work and that’s the same as when it comes to recruiting players through analytics as well. The analytics will be a very important part of the process.”