Derek McInnes insists he is happy to embrace the ambitious goals of investor Tony Bloom — who has set his sights on Hearts becoming Scottish champions within the next 10 years.
Brighton owner Bloom was at Tynecastle last night to watch Hearts open their Premiership campaign with a richly deserved win over Aberdeen.
Earlier in the day, Bloom had claimed Hearts are already capable of splitting the Old Firm and finishing second in the table this season.
McInnes, who revealed he will sit down for discussions with Bloom for the first time today, is more than happy to buy into the English entrepreneur’s vision as seeks an on-field return on his £10million stake in Hearts.
‘I knew what Tony was going to say ahead of him saying it and I’ve got absolutely no problem with it at all,’ said the Hearts manager.
‘There are so many people like Tony who are ambitious and want Hearts to be successful. He has come in with a fresh pair of eyes and come out to say exactly what he wants. It’s what we all want at the club.
Findlay is hailed after his headed goal put clear daylight between the teams at Tynecastle
Manager Derek McInnes has enjoyed a perfect start at Hearts and is excited about the future
Hearts full-back Harry Milne leads the celebrations after playing a part in the opening goal
‘We’ve got work to do. We’ve got to come from a long way back as a bottom six club last season but I think we can make progress.
‘We are still working off the same budget as the last couple of seasons but Tony, myself and others feel we can bridge the gap and maybe get ahead of others is through recruitment.
‘We can be a lot smarter and better on that side of it. Hopefully it gets us closer to the teams with more money than us.
‘It’s not to say it’s a certainty, we’ve got work to do to achieve it. I’m aware of that and I’m just enjoying working with the players. We’re still a long way off where we want to be.
‘Tony would have loved hearing his name sung as well. I knew Tony was coming up for the game for a while.
‘I haven’t spoken to him yet, we’ve exchanged a few text messages, and we will sit down tomorrow.
‘I think he would have enjoyed the game and the result because, as he said, he just wants to see a winning Hearts team more often than not. That’s what we all want.’
McInnes was gratified by his team’s display as Graeme Shinnie’s own goal and a Stuart Findlay header secured all three points.
Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin reacts after Graeme Shinnie’s own goal opened the scoring
Stuart Findlay heads home from close range to spark scenes of wild excitement at Tynecastle
‘Every manager wants to get the first league win as soon as possible and I thought we were thoroughly deserving,’ he added.
‘We came out the traps strongly and were probably worthy of going into half-time a couple of goals ahead.
‘I don’t think we were brilliant in the second half, but when we got the second goal we managed the game brilliantly from there.
‘It was a tough game, as you’d expect against Aberdeen. What we’ve got in there is a bunch of lads who are screaming to do well, fully motivated. We can play better, but it was a good start. We’ll take the three points and move on.’
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin was left dismayed by a lacklustre performance from his team, whose start to the season doesn’t get any easier with a home game against champions Celtic on Sunday.
‘In the first half we were disappointed with our performance because Hearts the battle with second balls,’ said Thelin.
‘We had to do better. In the second half there were less mistakes and we created chances, but in the 50-50 duels we have to do better in the future.
‘We knew what we were going to face today. It’s going to be a different type of game against Celtic.’
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